By Plasteurope.com staff

With an investment of EUR 10 mn, Röchling (Mannheim, Germany; www.roechling.com), wants to expand its recycling plant in Geeste-Dalum. Located in north-western Germany, the plant began operations in 2021. The Röchling Sustainability Center, which is part of the group’s Industrial division, is set to reach an annual processing capacity of 10,000 t/y of plastics waste by 2027. When asked by Plasteurope.com, a spokesperson put the annual volume of post-industrial waste processed to date at 2,000 t/y to 3,000 t/y – this is primarily based on polyethylene and polypropylene.

The plan is to install a modern sorting line as well as additional shredding and grinding equipment. The number of staff at the site is also set to be increased by 20. In addition to the new production hall, the company plans to construct an office building.

Röchling would be working on a “holistic sustainability solution”, the spokesperson explained. This indicates that in future, in addition to processing waste from semi-finished polyolefin products, the plant might also process waste based on other polymers. The waste is to be further treated for use in production at the Industrial division’s main plant in Haren.

Along with the company’s own waste collection, more than 100 customers also collect their production waste and deliver it to Röchling, the company said. The aim is to produce recyclates and semi-finished products that the Mannheim-based group offers under the ReLoop brand. The spokesperson declined to comment on whether customers would receive a discount on recycling products in return for providing scrap material.

— Translated by Christopher Köbel