Mechanical Recycling

The diverse properties of plastic enable a plethora of products and applications that make daily life safer, more mobile, and more eco-efficient. These properties allow us to ensure more sustainable living, while the global population grows and demand for plastic increases. However, within the linear economic model, plastic products are made, used, and then discarded. Continuing with this model will lead to more plastic waste and environmental pollution, while putting pressure on the planet’s limited resources.

Borealis is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and sustainable polyolefin solutions and a European front-runner in polyolefins recycling. OMV and Borealis are actively developing enhanced technologies to efficiently recycle two key plastic types, polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), thereby providing an alternative to the linear “take-make-waste” economy. Mechanical recycling is one such technology. With mechanical recycling, the plastic is cleaned, mechanically flaked, melted down, and processed into plastic granulate. In an ideal scenario, this material can be used to make the same products again, i.e., a detergent bottle becomes a new detergent bottle. No change is made to the chemical structure of the plastic, which is why the feedstock must be sorted properly and even split into different colors.

Borcycle™ M is Borealis’ transformational technology for mechanical recycling, which gives polyolefin-based post-consumer waste a new lease of life. Using advanced mechanically recycled products out of the Borcycle™ M portfolio ensures a lower carbon footprint compared to using fully fossil-fuel-based products. Through Borealis and its subsidiaries (mtm plastics, Ecoplast, and a demo plant operated by a joint enterprise in Lahnstein), OMV operates three mechanical recycling plants. The demo plant in Lahnstein is a joint undertaking by Borealis, TOMRA, and Zimmerman, and was commissioned at the beginning of 2021.

Borealis currently runs four mechanical recycling plants in Austria and Germany with a total capacity of around 100 kt p.a.

• mtm plastics GmbH, a leading German recycler of post-consumer polyolefins, was acquired in 2016. The company runs two plants and produces up to 70 kt p.a. of regranulate.
• Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH in Austria was acquired in 2018. The company processes post-consumer plastic waste from households and industrial consumers into high-quality recyclate destined primarily for the plastic film market. The plant has a capacity of 30 kt p.a.
• A demo plant for advanced recycling was established in Germany in 2021 as part of a partnership with TOMRA, a Norwegian collection and sorting machine manufacturer, and Zimmermann, a German waste management company. It is one of the world’s most advanced mechanical recycling plants and implements the Borcycle™ M technology.

In 2022, Borealis started looking into the development of a commercial-scale advanced mechanical recycling plant in Austria, based on the Borcycle™ M technology. The decision was supported with positive feedback from the market on the recycled polyolefins delivered by the demo plant in Lahnstein, Germany, using the same technology.

The acquisition of Rialti S.p.A. in November 2023 increases the current sustainable polyolefins production capacity by a further 50 kt. As soon as the acquisition of Integra Plastics AD, which was announced in November 2023, is completed, another 20 kt of recycling capacity will be added to Borealis’ advanced mechanical recycling portfolio.

Management and Due Diligence Processes

Certification

The Borealis recycling businesses mtm plastics and Ecoplast are certified according to the Europe-wide EuCertPlast certification program for companies that recycle post-consumer plastic waste.

2023 Actions

• In January 2023, Borealis announced that its subsidiary Ecoplast Kunststoffrecycling GmbH, a mechanical polyolefin recycler based in Wildon, Austria, had received the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS). ISCC PLUS is a global certification that covers the entire supply chain, from raw material to final product, guaranteeing compliance with the highest standards for ecological and social sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions savings, and traceability. Ecoplast is the first mechanical polyolefin recycler in Austria to achieve the certification.
• In 2023, Borealis presented a new mono-material pouch containing over 95% PP and designed for recycling, developed in collaboration with value chain partners. When processed within dedicated mechanical recycling streams for PP, this mono-material pouch yields greater volumes of high-quality recyclate fit for use in non-food, flexible PP packaging applications. It is thus the ideal format with which to fulfil the principal aims of the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR): improve recyclability, grow the market for recycled content, and reduce packaging waste. As a mono-material PP packaging format, it can help meet ambitious recycling and waste reduction targets set forth in the PPWR, as well as eco-modulation criteria for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs.
• In June 2023, Borealis acquired Rialti S.p.A., a leading European producer of recycled polypropylene compounds. The transaction was successfully completed in Nov­ember 2023. Based in Italy, Rialti is one of the European market leaders specialized in the production of sustainable polypropylene (PP) compounds with a focus on mechanically recycled PP feedstock from post-industrial and post-consumer waste. The investment will strengthen Borealis’ circular portfolio, adding 50 kt of recycled compounding capacity and meeting growing customer demand for sustainable solutions.
• In November 2023, Borealis announced the signing of an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in Integra Plastics AD, an advanced mechanical recycling player based in Bulgaria. Integra Plastics AD operates a modern advanced mechanical recycling plant built in 2019 with state-of-the-art equipment. Integra Plastics has the ability to transform post-consumer waste into high-quality polyolefin recyclates suitable for demanding applications. This investment will add more than 20 kt of recycling capacity to Borealis’ advanced mechanical recycling portfolio.
• In July 2023, Borealis’ PO compounding site in Monza, Italy, received ISCC PLUS certification, as did its mechanical recycling plant mtm plastics in November. Earlier Borealis had achieved the milestone of having all of its European PO operations and PO compounding sites (with the exception of the newly acquired Rialti in Italy) certified, in addition to the Renasci recycling sites in Ostend, Belgium, and Ecoplast in Austria.

Outlook

In 2024 and over the coming years, OMV will focus on making further investments in Borealis’ mechanical recycling production capacities to enable the commercial ramp-up of its circular portfolio to continuously progress toward its targets.