VEOLIA
German recycling site investing in the refinement of recycled HDPE / Light-coloured recyclate for packaging
 In Bernburg, ground rHDPE is to be separated by colour and prepared to customer specifications (Photo: Veolia) |
Using a new sorting module, German recycling specialist Multiport (Bernburg; www.veolia.de/multiport) will be sorting HDPE regrind by colour in the future, and using it to make compounds according to customer specifications. It will be one of the first companies in Germany to employ this automated process. Herbert Snell, CEO of the subsidiary of French waste disposal company Veolia (Paris; www.veolia.com) explains that this will make it possible to meet the packaging industry’s requirements for light-coloured recyclates for re-use in packaging.
Multiport with its headquarters in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt specialises in the production of compounds and regrind from post-consumer HDPE packaging waste generated by private households and commercial and industrial operations. The compounds and regrind are used either on their own or mixed with other plastics as a substitute for virgin material. Together with sister company MultiPet, which has been operating a PET recycling facility on the same site for 20 years, Multiport has an overall capacity of some 70,000 t/y, with more than 150 employees. The Veolia unit is thus probably one of the biggest recycling sites for plastics in Europe.
A recent study from the University of Magdeburg-Stendal also shows that, by substituting Multiport compounds for virgin plastics, it is possible to save 1.40 kg CO2 equivalents per kilogram of compound produced. This means that 77% fewer climate-relevant emissions are released by comparison to the production of an identical quantity of virgin material. A total of 2.18 kg CO2 equivalents would be saved by using the rPET produced by MultiPet instead of virgin material.
In Germany, the French waste management group processes more than 100,000 t plastics per year. This is post-consumer waste from the deposit system for disposable beverage bottles and also lightweight packaging waste collected by the yellow bag scheme, as well as plastics waste from industry and commerce. In addition to Bernburg, the German Veolia branch also runs a PET recycling site in Rostock and several waste sorting plants across the country. In 2020, Veolia commissioned a new sorting plant for LDPE film scrap in Salzgitter (see Plasteurope.com of 08.06.2020).
Multiport with its headquarters in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt specialises in the production of compounds and regrind from post-consumer HDPE packaging waste generated by private households and commercial and industrial operations. The compounds and regrind are used either on their own or mixed with other plastics as a substitute for virgin material. Together with sister company MultiPet, which has been operating a PET recycling facility on the same site for 20 years, Multiport has an overall capacity of some 70,000 t/y, with more than 150 employees. The Veolia unit is thus probably one of the biggest recycling sites for plastics in Europe.
A recent study from the University of Magdeburg-Stendal also shows that, by substituting Multiport compounds for virgin plastics, it is possible to save 1.40 kg CO2 equivalents per kilogram of compound produced. This means that 77% fewer climate-relevant emissions are released by comparison to the production of an identical quantity of virgin material. A total of 2.18 kg CO2 equivalents would be saved by using the rPET produced by MultiPet instead of virgin material.
In Germany, the French waste management group processes more than 100,000 t plastics per year. This is post-consumer waste from the deposit system for disposable beverage bottles and also lightweight packaging waste collected by the yellow bag scheme, as well as plastics waste from industry and commerce. In addition to Bernburg, the German Veolia branch also runs a PET recycling site in Rostock and several waste sorting plants across the country. In 2020, Veolia commissioned a new sorting plant for LDPE film scrap in Salzgitter (see Plasteurope.com of 08.06.2020).
22.09.2021 Plasteurope.com [248568-0]
Published on 22.09.2021
German version of this article...