Poland: Aim to Triple the Recycling Capacity of Beverage Cartons

The investment in a complete recycling solution is set to improve recycling throughout Central and Eastern Europe, Tetra Pak and Stora Enso informed in a joined press release. Stora Enso will invest 17 million Euro into a new repulping line at Stora Enso’s Ostrołęka production unit in Poland.

As reported, the line will triple the annual recycling capacity of used beverage cartons in Poland from 25,000 to 75,000 tons. “This will allow recycling of the entire volume of beverage cartons sold in the country as well as ones from neighboring countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.”

Apart from Stora Enso’s investment, Tetra Pak – along with Czech company Plastigram – will invest a total of 12.1 million Euro to build an additional line, which is to recover and separately recycle the polymers and the aluminum, using a patented separation technology. The company has developed and tested on an industrial scale a technology for recycling PolyAl, the remains of used beverage cartons after paper recycling. According to the information, both lines are expected to be operational by the beginning of 2023. The separated materials will be used as raw materials for various end applications. Recycled fibers will be integrated into Stora Enso’s recycled board. The separated polymers and aluminum will be given a second life in the form of different kinds of products, such as crates and foils.

“The investment aims to contribute to the development of a circular economy at a country level,” Stora Enso and Tetra Pak underlined. “It will also be fully aligned with the European Green Deal. The collected cartons will be managed in an environmentally sound manner, making full use of the materials resulting from the recycling process.”

www.tetrapak.com, www.storaenso.com, www.plastigram.eu

(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 1/2022, Page 39, Photo: Tetra Pak International S.A.)