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Norway's Cutting-Edge Plastic Recycling Facility Boosts National Recycling Rates
6 Nov
Summary
- New national facility Områ can process up to 90,000 tons of plastic packaging waste per year
- Facility uses advanced sensor-based sorting to separate waste into 10 different polymer types
- Helps municipalities and waste firms adopt automated mixed waste sorting technologies
In a significant step towards improving Norway's plastic recycling capabilities, the country has recently opened a new national facility called Områ. Located near Oslo, this state-of-the-art facility is a joint venture between TOMRA Systems and Plastretur, and it has the capacity to process up to 90,000 tons of plastic packaging waste each year.
Områ employs TOMRA's cutting-edge sensor-based sorting systems to separate the mixed plastic waste into as many as ten different polymer types, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polystyrene. This advanced technology is designed to work alongside municipalities and waste management firms that are adopting automated mixed waste sorting technologies, helping to raise Norway's national recycling rates by reducing the reliance on household-level sorting.
Currently, around one-third of Norway's plastic packaging waste is being recycled, with the majority still being sent to incineration. However, the opening of Områ is expected to be a game-changer, as it provides a reliable and scalable solution for recovering more resources from the country's plastic waste stream. TOMRA's president and CEO, Tove Andersen, has described the facility as a "missing link in Europe's circular economy," with the potential to close the loop for plastics in Norway.
