Sorting pilot leads the way in southern Spain

The Granada region in the south of Spain is host to an innovative sorting facility to save plastics from landfill.

Financed by the European Union’s Life programme, the pilot plant is located in the La Ecocentral complex in Alhendín near Granada. Set up by a group of technology providers and experts from the University of Granada, the facility is operated by FFC Medio Ambiente, a big player in waste management serving 5 000 municipalities and 66 million people in 12 countries.

The Life4Film pilot facility consists of four stages: separation, washing, extrusion and production of the final product. Stadler designed and and built the plant and other tech suppliers include Erema and Lindner.

The facility has an intake capacity of 10 000 tonnes of plastics per year with an output of some 4 000 tonnes of recycled polyethylene pellets. Of these, some 700 tonnes a year will be dedicated to the production of recycled plastic refuse bags, which will be used by FCC Medio Ambiente and various municipalities for gardening and street cleaning work.