Swedish Plastic Recycling (SPR), owned by a considerable part of the Swedish business community, is now investing heavily in building what it claims is the ‘world’s largest and most modern facility for plastic recycling’—Site Zero.
Plastic is an incredibly versatile and valuable material with unique properties. The modern world wouldn’t even exist without them. That’s why it’s vital to recycle plastic packaging and ensure that it becomes part of the circular economy without harming the climate. However, Site Zero in the city of Motala is a significant step in the right direction.
The state-of-the-art facility will be able to recycle all plastic packaging from Swedish households and make plastics circular—entirely without any CO2 emissions. SPR is investing a record €100 million (SEK 1 billion) in the facility, which is expected to be completed in 2023.
The existing Motala facility, which the company claims is already the ‘most efficient’ in Europe, is now being upgraded with next-generation technology.
Mattias Philipsson, the CEO of SPR, explained, “We are doubling our capacity and will be able to handle 200,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year. This creates the conditions needed for receiving and eventually recycling all plastic packaging from Swedish households.”
The new advanced technology will ensure that ‘practically all types of plastic’ can be recycled. Currently, the facility can manage four plastic types, but that number will increase to twelve different types following the investment. In addition, any tiny bits of plastic that remain after the sorting process is separated to be sent to become new composite products or for chemical recycling. Another plus—no packaging is incinerated at Site Zero.
Mattias Philipsson added, “There is today no other facility in the world that has that capability. We are also preparing for washing and granulation of the plastic in phase two, which is planned for 2025. Then our entire plastic flow in Sweden can become circular.”
According to the company, Site Zero will be “completely climate-neutral and emission-free.” In addition, the facility is operated with renewable energy, and the small quantities of plastic and other waste that can’t be recycled will be sent for carbon capture storage. Finally, there are also plans to cover the building’s large flat roof with solar panels to generate renewable energy.
Because recovery does not always equal recycling, it is important to examine the end destinations and verification behind each plastic recovery claim.
Mattias Philipsson said, “This investment creates the prerequisites needed for making Sweden a world leader in plastic recycling. Being able to do it together with our producer customers and owners, who consist of large parts of the Swedish business community, is very inspiring.”
One of the contributors to this project is the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), with around €18 million (SEK 180 million) funding via the climate investment aid program called Klimatklivet.
