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A new state-of-the-art sorting plant for lightweight packaging is set to open in Ennshafen, Upper Austria, in 2024. The ground-breaking ceremony for the plant, which will have an annual sorting capacity of 100,000 tonnes, took place at the beginning of March.
In the Upper Austrian port of Ennshafen, the Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA), the Bernegger GmbH and Der Grüne Punkt Holding GmbH & Co. KG a high-tech sorting plant for lightweight packaging. The plant is three times larger than existing plants in Austria. The new sorting plant can Cover 50 per cent of Austria's sorting capacity for lightweight packaging. The cross-border recycling partnership between ARA, Bernegger and Der Grüne Punkt is therefore an important step for the European circular economy and a milestone for plastics recycling in Austria.
"Reconciling business and the environment also brings many opportunities. Austria's economy and industry are full of innovative strength, especially when it comes to the development of green technologies. This circular economy creates future-proof jobs for people in the region and strengthens Austria as a centre of business and innovation in equal measure. This is a win-win situation for the environment and climate as well as value creation, especially for the people in the region."
Werner KoglerVice-Chancellor
As part of a strategic partnership, ARA, Bernegger and Der Grüne Punkt are setting up a Sorting plant for lightweight plastic and metal packaging. The ground-breaking ceremony on 3 March 2023 marks the start of construction work on the high-tech sorting plant. The yield of collected lightweight packaging can be greatly increased in the new sorting plant. The current Plant infrastructure in Austria ensures a sorting depth of 58 per cent for plastic packagingThe plant of ARA, Bernegger and Der Grüne Punkt is expected to achieve 80 per cent.
"The adapted recycling targets of the EU Circular Economy Package require a fundamental increase in collection and a significant improvement in sorting depth. With this state-of-the-art sorting plant, we are ideally equipped for the increasing volumes of waste and raw materials."
Martin Prieler, ARA Board of Directors
The sorting capacity of the system is essential for the Achieving recycling rates for plastic packaging, which Austria aims to double from the current 25 per cent to 50 per cent by 2025 must. With a sorting capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year, the plant plays a key role in achieving the EU recycling target and can cover 50 percent of the required sorting capacity for lightweight packaging in Austria.
"We welcome this strategic cross-border partnership with our Austrian partners in order to gain additional raw materials for more recycling and the circular economy."
Laurent AugusteCEO Der Grüne Punkt
Equipped with State-of-the-art near-infrared sensor technology the new sorting plant is a future-proof investment that processes raw materials in a fully digitalised way and achieves a significantly higher output with increased quality with the help of artificial intelligence. Overall The sensors are designed to detect, analyse and separate 20 different waste fractions by typeto prepare the valuable raw materials for recycling without any loss of quality. Powered by its own PV system and other sustainable energy sources, the high-tech plant is committed to a sustainable and climate-friendly energy supply.
"The construction of the sorting plant in the future Enns raw materials park will create regional added value and create 40 new green jobs in Austria."
Kurt Bernegger, Bernegger Managing Director
With a hall height of 25 metres, the new facility in the Upper Austrian port of Ennshafen will become one of the highest in Europe, thus ensuring low space consumption and an efficient material flow. The site is planned to be logistically sustainable and, thanks to the direct rail connection for the simultaneous unloading of up to 5 block trains, enables low-emission and climate-friendly transport by rail. In view of the amendment to the Austrian Waste Management Act (AWG), the site is in a particularly favourable strategic location. After all, the amendment pushes the low-emission transport by rail; in just a few years, more than ten tonnes of waste can be transported by rail over distances of just 100 km.
"The use of resources is crucial for a modern business location. This innovative plant contributes to making Upper Austria a little more ecological. The investment impressively demonstrates that climate protection is a high priority in Upper Austria. We are grateful to everyone involved for this initiative."
Thomas StelzerGovernor
Source: The Green Dot
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