- A new facility in Krefeld, Germany will process 40kt of post-consumer polystyrene waste per year.
- The facility is expected to start operations in mid-2025.
- INEOS Styrolution will handle the purification process to meet EFSA requirements.
- Tomra will provide sorting technology and feedstock collection.
Project Overview
INEOS Styrolution, Tomra, and EGN Entsorgungsgesellschaft Niederrhein have announced a project to recycle post-consumer polystyrene (PS) waste into food-grade polystyrene. The facility will be located in Krefeld, Germany, and is expected to start operations in mid-2025.
Facility Details
EGN, a subsidiary of SWK AG, will build and manage the advanced mechanical recycling facility, which will have a capacity to process 40kt of post-consumer PS waste annually. EGN will handle sorting and washing, while INEOS Styrolution will manage the purification process to meet European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) standards for food contact applications.
Partnership Roles
Tomra will provide the necessary sorting technology and collect post-consumer PS waste from disposed food packaging, delivering it to the new site in Krefeld. This collaboration aims to create a true circular economy for polystyrene, particularly benefiting industries like dairy.
Recycling Benefits
Polystyrene is highly sortable and one of the few polymers that can achieve food-contact quality through mechanical recycling. It retains its properties after multiple recycling cycles and has low contamination uptake. The project is expected to significantly increase the percentage of recycled food packaging material, reduce packaging taxes, and lower licensing fees in applicable regions.
