Every year, about 200,000 pieces of plastic packaging are put on the Swedish market that needs to be taken care of. Plastic that is not being sorted correctly leads to emissions, but at this plant outside of Stockholm, Near-Infrared technology is being used to put an end to the problem.
Plastic is responsible for 60 % of the CO2 emissions that occur when burning waste. With the help of pioneering technology, plastic and metal that were previously burned up are being sorted, increasing the amount of recycled material. The near-infrared sorting technique means that the machine identifies different types of plastic and sorts the ones that can be recycled, such as plastic packaging. By sorting plastic and metal, about 75 % of the CO2 emissions can be reduced.
The plant outside of Stockholm is the first of its kind in Sweden. A total of 11,000 tonnes of plastic and 2,500 tonnes of metal are sorted out each year. This means that the directives from the EU on recycling are met, offering owner municipalities a sustainable solution.
The sorting operation in Brista is built in collaboration with Stockholm Exergi and Sörab and is part-financed by Klimatklivet (Sweden’s national green financing scheme).
Read more about the Brista recycling plant here.
