According to Suez Recycling Süd GmbH, Europe's most modern sorting plant for lightweight packaging has gone into operation. The plant is located in Ölbronn in Baden-Württemberg. More than 30 million euros have been invested and 50 new jobs created, according to Suez.
With the new Sorting plant it will be possible to produce large quantities of Light waste sorted into 14 different recyclable fractions. Nine different types of Plastic are recognised. Suez puts the facility's annual capacity at 100,000 tonnes. This corresponds to the annual volume of lightweight packaging of more than three million German citizens.
„Thanks to efficient sorting, we are making a decisive contribution to a sustainable circular economy.“
Jochen Zickwolf, Managing Director of Suez Recycling Süd GmbH
The good sorting performance is achieved by means of a largely Automated sorting technology. Among other things 21 camera-based near-infrared separators for automated sorting of recyclable materials. The sorted recyclables are automatically weighed and pressed.
Deep bunker for 9,000 cubic metres of waste
The facility's special attraction is located underground. Eight metres deep is the 9,000 cubic metre reservoir. Deep bunker, which is used for the temporary storage of the delivered material. According to Suez, this solution was chosen because it is low-noise, low-odour and
is fireproof and ensures greater occupational safety thanks to a clear separation between delivery traffic, input management and plant loading. A Electric excavator collects an average of 200,000 yellow bags per day from the bunker and transports them to the more than 200 conveyor belts in the sorting hall.
The operators have also paid particular attention to the Fire protection taken into account. For example, the deep bunker and sorting system are separated from each other by a firewall with an automatically closing firewall. In addition, the fire protection concept is designed so that so-called Hotspots can be automatically recognised and combated before large fires can even start.
