Over 1,000 Tons of CO2 Savings: Pipelife's Recycling Facilities in Ölsremma Unlock New Opportunities

While plastics have become integral to modern life, most of the plastic waste in Europe is still incinerated or relegated to landfills. The increasing global demand for the material highlights the need for enhanced plastic circularity. Pipelife Sweden's plant in Ölsremma has been revamped into a state-of-the-art PE/PP recycling facility, producing premium-quality materials that can be used in pipe manufacturing just like virgin alternatives. The industry-leading investment is a crucial part of Pipelife's commitment to meet its ambitious sustainability goals.

_{Addressing Challenges in Plastic Recycling}

The demand for plastics in Europe and globally is rising, as the material boasts excellent durability, long life span and cost savings along the value chain. However, growing reliance on plastics underscores the urgent need to increase plastic circularity. 

Despite efforts, most plastic waste is still incinerated or ends up in landfills. The European Environment Agency has highlighted recycling as a crucial step for improving waste management across the bloc. Although the EU has scaled its recycling initiatives in recent years, the overall share of recycled plastics remains low. In 2021, the EU produced 16.13 million tons of plastic, but only 6.56 tons were recycled. 

Numerous challenges for scaling plastic recycling remain, from hard-to-recycle product designs and collection issues to inconsistent quality of recycled materials and its often higher price compared to virgin alternatives. A common practice is the so-called downcycling, when recyclates are used to manufacture lesser-quality, lower-value products, which often have shorter lifespans and cannot be recycled again.  

_{Circular Plastic Products: Myth or Opportunity?}

As one of Europe's leading manufacturers of plastic piping systems, Pipelife is committed to promoting a circular approach and dispelling misconceptions about circular products. Konstantinos Akritanakis, R&D International Project Manager at Pipelife, emphasizes that current technologies allow for manufacturing highly durable products from recycled plastics with a service life of several decades. However, sourcing reliable quality recyclates remains a largely unaddressed challenge for manufacturers:

"There is a high demand for recycled plastics in industries such as packaging and automotive manufacturing, where the quality specifications for recyclates are not as stringent as those for pipe-grade materials. Thus, most recyclers focus on these sectors. At Pipelife, although we have significantly increased our use of recycled materials, sourcing high-quality recyclates and ensuring their constant availability remains difficult."

To address the current challenges of plastic recycling, such as downcycling or incineration of high-quality used products, Pipelife has launched a number of its own circular initiatives, such as free collection service and recycling of used drip irrigation pipes.  

Another major circularity investment is a new PE/PP compounding facility in Ölsremma, Sweden. Having commenced operations in April 2024, the compounder allows converting PE and PP waste into premium-quality recyclates with properties closest to virgin material.

_{PE/PP Compounding: Revolution in Plastic Recycling}

During compounding, PE or PP plastic flakes are melted, filtered, enriched with fillers and additives as required and pelletized, enhancing the material's physical, thermal and aesthetic properties. The end product — PE/PP pellets — is a high-end recyclate that can be used in pipe manufacturing just like pellets from virgin material.

"Using recycled materials is a complex process that can be challenging in practice. To ensure the premium quality of our products, we started with the recycling process itself — by designing a custom-made compounding system tailored to our industry's specific needs," says Akritanakis.

The products recycled in Ölsremma are mostly plastic pipes; however, the plant also handles plastic bottles, caps, containers and other PE/PP waste in smaller quantities. In its first year, the Ölsremma plant is expected to produce 900 tons of premium-quality recyclate, saving 1,170 tons of CO2 compared to an equal amount of virgin material. The output will significantly increase as the facility reaches its full capacity in the coming years. 

_{At the Forefront of Sustainable Piping Solutions}

The new recycling technology in Ölsremma reduces Pipelife Sweden's reliance on fossil-based raw materials, incorporating an even higher share of locally sourced, recycled plastics in production. As local recycling offers environmental benefits, the recycled raw material is primarily used at Pipelife's production site in Ljung, Sweden, with future export possibilities to plants in Norway and Finland. 

The recent investment positions Pipelife as an industry leader in sustainability, exceeding current circular economy standards and regulations. The company is committed to leveraging its experience and expertise to open state-of-the-art recycling facilities across Europe in the coming years.