46
A first for Sweden…
and beyond
O m n i P o l y m e r s s e t s t h e b a r h i g h
A huge part of Sweden’s household plastics –
worth close to EUR 1 billion – is lost annually,
mostly by incineration. But change is under-
way, thanks to innovators like Omni Polymers.
new products and consists mostly of
polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene
(PE).’
RECIRCULATIOIN GUARANTEED
The resulting product is suited to
injection moulding applications. Omni
Polymers has customers across several
different manufacturing industries and
the product applications vary.
Common examples include industrial
packaging and internal logistics prod-
ucts that support the automotive
industry. Tapper: ‘What’s more, the
granules can be recycled at the end of
the product life, so the plastic recircu-
lates within the manufacturing indus-
try.’
Over the years, Scandinavia has
proved to be a breeding ground for
innovative recycling. The Nordic
region is home to leading R&D insti-
tutes, major recyclers and smart recy-
cling initiatives, one of which is
Swedish newcomer Omni Polymers. In
October, the company started produc-
tion at its new facility in Angelholm,
near Malmo in the south of the coun-
try.
Omni Polymers produces high-quality
raw material in the form of a polyole-
fin granule made from flexible plastic
packaging recovered from Swedish
households. This waste material has
previously been incinerated.
According to the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), 87 % of all Sweden’s plastic
waste is incinerated and it is estimat-
ed that approximately SEK 9 billion
(EUR 1 billion) in material value is lost
annually.
That is something Omni Polymers
seeks to change. ‘Our use of plastics
continues to increase but very little is
recycled,’ says company ceo Josef
Tapper. Omni Polymers has invested
EUR 8 million in the Angelholm plant,
with a major contribution from a
national programme to reduce CO2
emissions while also being sponsored
by food concern Nestlé. Omni
Polymers is part of TMR Gruppen and
Plastonomy.
WORLD PREMIERE
Omni Polymers claims to have a
unique manufacturing process from
recovered plastic packaging. The
company designed and constructed
the production line specifically for
end-of-life flexible plastic packaging
that has previously been difficult to
recycle.
The production line consists of four
process steps: size reduction, washing
and drying, density separation
and finally extrusion. The treatment
water is circulated in its own closed
system for ‘maximum resource effi-
ciency and minimal environmental
impact’.
The plant was developed in collabora-
tion with tech suppliers Erema, Weima
and WIPA. ‘It’s a state-of-the-art facili-
ty with one goal: to process plastic
waste into raw material,’ says Tapper.
‘The product is made from used
household packaging and is a mix of
several polymers. The granule replac-
es virgin plastic as a raw material in
A U T H O R Martijn Reintjes
Inside Omni Polymers’ facility in Angelholm, Sweden.
Josef Tapper: ‘We’ve also seen great interest from parties in Norway and Germany.’
46-47_plasticssp_omnipolymersswe.indd 46 09-11-2022 11:45
