Europe to become home of the ‘world’s largest’ plastic recycling facility

The facility will have the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food grade beverage bottles made of 100% recycled and recyclable PET plastic annually

A new partnership between sustainable plastics technology firm Loop Industries and environmental services company SUEZ has been launched to create what claims to be the world’s largest plastic recycling project.

The giant plant, which will be located in Europe, will produce virgin-quality, food-grade, 100% recycled and ‘infinitely recyclable’ plastic aiming to meet the needs of global brands looking for 100% recycled content for packaging.

The facility will have the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food grade beverage bottles made of 100% recycled and recyclable PET plastic annually.

The plant is forecast to save around 180,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, compared with virgin PET production from a traditional petrochemical process – these savings are equivalent to approximately 418,000 barrels of oil.

Loop Founder and CEO Daniel Solomita, said: “Europe is leading the charge against petroleum-based plastics. Through tougher regulations and taxes, they are setting a global example on transitioning to a more circular economy.”

Europe consumes approximately 5.5 million tonnes of PET plastic every year, less than 7% of which makes its way back into bottles.

European governments are now imposing new regulation on single-use plastics and set minimum recycled content laws for packaging.

Make sure you check out the latest Net Hero Podcast episode:

Latest Podcast