In a significant endeavour to enhance the recycling capabilities of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and other plastics, industry representatives from the EPS sector convened in Motala to explore the state-of-the-art Site Zero facility. This visit, organised by IKEM (Sweden) and EPS-Branchen (Denmark), provided an in-depth examination of the world’s largest and most advanced sorting facility for plastic packaging. It also offered a valuable opportunity for participants to share insights and discuss the current state and future incentives for EPS recycling across Europe.
Site Zero: Benchmarking Innovation in Plastic Sorting and Recycling
Site Zero, managed by Swedish Plastic Recycling (Svensk Plaståtervinning), stands at the forefront of technological innovation in plastic recycling. This 60,000 sqm sorting centre boasts an annual capacity to process 200,000 tonnes of plastic, supported by cutting-edge technology that includes 60 Near Infrared (NIR) sensors. These sensors are adept at recognising plastics by their unique chemical structures, enabling the facility to sort twelve different types of plastics, including EPS and XPS.
Therese Cederblom, Sales Manager of Swedish Plastic Recycling, led the facility tour, emphasising its advanced capabilities. "With the ability to sort 1,000 packages per second and handle complex multilayer packaging, Site Zero sets a new industry standard," she explained. The facility’s sophisticated sorting lines, particularly those for laminated plastics, reflect its commitment to addressing the complexities of modern plastic waste management.
Therese also elaborated on the facility's operational milestones: "Established by the Plastic and Packaging industry in 2018, the first sorting line was launched in 2019. Today, Site Zero employs approximately 100 individuals and continues to evolve in response to industry needs." She also shared the recent implementation of home-based plastic waste collection in Sweden, which began on January 1, 2024, following a new regulation by the Swedish government aimed at increasing the collection rate of packaging from households.
EPS and Site Zero: Aligning with EU Recycling Goals and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)
EPS, a vital material with applications in both the packaging and insulation sectors, is integral to Site Zero’s operations. Rickard Jansson, Development Engineer at Swedish Plastic Recycling, underscored the material’s advantages: "EPS is a raw material from the beginning. EPS packaging is generally easy to handle because it is made from a single EPS monostructure." The EPS at Site Zero is collected from households and is exclusively from packaging. However, after the sorting and recycling process, the EPS packaging fraction can be redirected to the insulation sector.
This facility’s ability to sort and process EPS efficiently is particularly relevant as the European Union aims to meet its 2030 objectives under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PWWR). These objectives include achieving 100% recyclable packaging, a 55% recycling rate, and significantly using recycled content in plastic packaging.
At present, EPS and XPS, sorted together in Motala, constitute a notable fraction of Site Zero's input, with EPS/XPS purity levels reaching 95.57% as of May 2023. This high degree of purity is crucial for meeting the EU’s stringent recycling standards and reducing the environmental impact of plastic waste.
Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Swedish Plastic Recycling, recently commented on the facility’s broader impact, “With Site Zero, we have set a new benchmark for plastic recycling that the rest of Europe needs to follow. This initiative is essential for reducing emissions from incineration and decreasing the dependency on primary raw materials and focus on high recycling by extensive sorting to enable Circular economy for Plastic Packaging.”
The French Créa-Styr Initiative for Recycling EPS packaging
Following the visit to Site Zero, attendees engaged in an extensive programme focused on EPS recycling. A key highlight was the presentation of the Créa-Styr initiative by Quentin Blot of the French Packaging Association ELIPSO. In collaboration with EUMEPS, this initiative aims to advance the recycling of EPS across Europe by developing new recycling techniques and increasing the recycled content in EPS packaging.
EPS and XPS are integral components of household, industrial, and commercial packaging in France due to their unique mechanical and thermal properties. These materials are crucial for extending the shelf life of food products, protecting fragile items, and maintaining controlled temperatures for pharmaceuticals. Notably, EPS packaging with a light-weight structure, offers significant advantages in terms of low CO2 emissions and material efficiency.
Quentin Blot of the French association ELIPSO reminded the attendees that "the Créa-Styr initiative focuses on two main objectives: implementing commitments from the PS Charter for household EPS and XPS packaging and enhancing the collection and recycling of industrial and commercial EPS packaging."
Stakeholders in this initiative, including producers, packaging manufacturers, and recyclers, aim to achieve significant milestones. These include improving collection and sorting processes, increasing recycling rates, and ensuring the sustainability of the recycling sector.
Moreover, Quentin highlighted the initiative's goals: “We aim to achieve 100% collection and recycling of EPS packaging in France, in line with the AGEC law.”
The afternoon session featured detailed discussions on current recycling practices in France and Sweden, with valuable contributions from Vincent Collard of CITEO, a mission-driven company established by consumer goods and retail sector firms to mitigate the environmental impact of their packaging and paper through reduction, reuse, sorting, and recycling solutions. Liv Olsson, Sustainability Specialist at BEWI RAW and an active member of EUMEPS, also shared insights, along with Henrik Oxfall of IKEM, who co-organised this tour with Chresten Heide-Anderson from the Danish EPS association, EPS-branchen. These discussions highlighted the critical importance of continuous innovation and collaboration in meeting the EU’s ambitious recycling targets.
A Common Strategic Vision for EPS Recycling
Jakub Stefaniak, EU Technical Manager of EUMEPS, expressed his enthusiasm for the tour: "The tour impressed me a lot. It was very informative, well-conducted, and stunning to see such a huge, efficient, and automated site based in Europe with such a big capacity to sort plastics (including EPS, which does not happen often!) from three different countries."
The visit to Site Zero reinforced the key role of advanced sorting facilities in realising a circular economy for plastics. Ingrid Morin, Communications Manager of EUMEPS, reflected on the experience: " The advanced capabilities of Site Zero exemplify the potential of innovative solutions in our journey towards sustainability and circularity in the EPS industry. This visit has provided invaluable insights into how we can further enhance our recycling processes. In that regard, EUMEPS, by advocating to European policymakers and regulators, and its members, have a crucial role to play because this journey towards circular plastics will only be possible with the involvement of the industry by national governments and, of course, by Brussels. Successful initiatives like Site Zero, owned by the Swedish plastic industry but also supported by public funding, are perfect examples of what can be accomplished when stakeholders work together. The tour also showed that our material is not only a small fraction of EPS packaging, but that it can, in fact, easily be sorted out to be recycled 100%, contrary to popular beliefs."
Participants
The event brought together a diverse group of professionals committed to advancing EPS recycling:
- Angela Fredricks, Special Advisor at British Plastics Federation
- Aljosa Krizman, EVP & Head of Division at BEWI Circular
- Christian Larsson, Group Brand Manager at BEWI Group
- Elin Sohlberg, VP Operations Circular of BEWI Group
- Hartmut Siebert, Head of Sales - Europe and Americas - Polymer and Crystallization at Sulzer
- Henrik Oxfall, Head of Plastics of IKEM
- Ingrid Morin, Communications Manager of EUMEPS
- Jakub Stefaniak, EU Technical Manager of EUMEPS
- Lea Salihovic, EU Policy Manager of EUMEPS
- Liv Olsson, Sustainability Specialist at BEWI RAW
- Marianne Fiirgaard Nielsen, Environment and Sustainability Manager at BEWI Denmark AS
- Markus Kraft, Director Group Procurement at HIRSCH Servo AG
- Mounir El’Mourabit, Market Manager at Vartdal Plast group, and Advocacy Officer of EPS Foreningen
- Nicki Hunt-Davison, Construction Manager at British Plastics Federation
- Pavel Zemene, Market Manager of Sunpor Kunststoff Gmbh and Chairman of the Czech EPS National Association
- Quentin Blot, Recycling Officer at ELIPSO
- Tuuli Kunnas, Standardiser Manager at Rakennustuoteteollisuus rtt
- Vincent Collard, Director of Materials R&D at CITEO
The collective insights and discussions from this visit underscore EUMEPS's commitment to pioneering sustainable practices within the EPS industry, fostering innovation, and advancing the circular economy.
EUMEPS thanks both our members, IKEM and EPS-branchen, for organising this event.