Circular Economy OMV, Alba Recycling to Build New Sorting Plant for Chemical Recycling in Germany

OMV and Alba Recycling have plans to work together to develop an innovative sorting plant for separating mixed plastic waste for chemical recycling. The project is expected to process 200,000+ tons annually of post-consumer mixed waste into feedstock for the production of virgin polyolefins.

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Vienna/Austria – OMV and Alba Recycling have started exclusive discussions to jointly build and operate an innovative sorting plant in Walldürn, Germany, for the further sorting of mixed plastic waste for chemical recycling. A final investment decision is expected in 2022.

The collaboration will secure the delivery of high-quality suitable feedstock for chemical recycling from Alba Recycling to OMV to help close the loop for plastics. An innovative state-of-the-art sorting plant designed by Alba Recycling will have the capacity to process 200,000+ t per year of post-consumer mixed waste into suitable feedstock for the production of virgin polyolefins. This innovative sorting process facilitates the further extraction of polyolefins from a waste fraction that currently requires incineration. This innovative sorting process has been tested at industrial scale and the output has been successfully processed as feedstock in OMV’s Reoil pilot plant.

Maximilian Grasserbauer, OMV Vice President Plastic to Plastic: “Used plastics have a significant impact on the environment and climate. Reducing such impacts while retaining the usefulness of plastics requires a shift towards a more circular plastics system. Chemical recycling like the Reoil process is the ideal addition to well-established mechanical recycling methods.”

Dr. Axel Schweitzer, owner of Alba Recycling, said, “Chemical recycling is not a rival for mechanical recycling as mechanical recycling is the most efficient way to deal with mono-fractions from the sorting process. But chemical recycling is the only solution for mixed plastic waste like composite and multilayer plastics. We urgently need to recycle this material as well to close the loop for our customers. OMV and Alba Recycling will turn this mixed plastic waste, which is incinerated today, into an important source to produce enough recycling material for the sustainable production of goods and packaging.”

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