#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-01-13

Borealis and Reclay Group establish a unique strategic partnership to tackle the challenge of plastic packaging waste and its recycling

Photo: The plastic packaging waste is processed at Borealis’ own state-of-the-art recycling plants. Shown here: Borealis Recycling Plant Ecoplast in Wildon, Austria. © Borealis

Borealis, one of the world’s leading providers of advanced and circular polyolefin solutions and a European market leader in base chemicals and fertilizers, and the Reclay Group, international experts in environmental and material recovery management, announce that they have joined forces to satisfy increasing market demand for the supply of recyclate material for use in high-end plastic applications.

This unique partnership will optimise the recycling value chain starting with Germany, one of the largest European recycling markets. The partnership further accelerates the transition to plastics circularity by enabling customers and other value chain partners to meet their own sustainability targets.

Photo: The partnership secures plastic waste from Reclay for Borealis to convert and revalorise in high-quality recyclate materials. © Raan GmbH

• The strategic partnership will combine the complementary strengths and capabilities of both players in the plastics recycling value-chain, starting with Germany

• The agreement secures plastic waste from Reclay for Borealis to convert and revalorise in high-quality recyclate materials

• in Practice: providing circular solutions to meet customer expectations and market demand

New partnership capitalises on strengths of downstream and upstream recycling expertise

The new agreement provides Borealis with access to a secure and steady supply of feedstock in the form of lightweight packaging (LWP) waste collected by Reclay’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme in Germany. The plastic packaging waste is then processed at Borealis’ own state-of-the-art recycling plants, thus extending the range of applications for which recycled plastics can be used. This in turn enables value chain partners, customers, and brand owners to meet recycling quotas and increase the volume of plastic recyclate used in products and applications.

“The reliable supply of high-quality recyclate is a prerequisite for a functioning circular economy,” explains Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Innovation & Technology and Circular Economy Solutions. “Working together with the Reclay Group is a strategic step towards value chain integration in securing plastic waste feedstock and improving recyclability. This will enable our customers and partners to achieve their circularity goals and reduce their overall carbon footprint, and at the same time underpins our Borealis journey towards more sustainable living.”

Photo: Reclay headquarters in Cologne, Germany. © Raan GmbH

"We are proud to be working in partnership with an innovative and globally recognised company in the chemical industry moving into the future," says Raffael A. Fruscio, Owner and Managing Director of the Reclay Group. "Borealis has state-of-the-art processes in the field of advanced recycling; we’ll jointly be setting a new standard in plastic recycling."

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STOLL in focus:

At the beginning of this year, KARL MAYER announced that it would be shifting its focus back to its core areas of warp knitting, warp preparation and technical textiles. As part of this strategic realignment, the flat knitting machine business under the STOLL brand will be discontinued. The Reutlingen plant will close down on 31 October 2025. Production in China will end in December 2025. This was an extremely difficult decision for KARL MAYER.