Stora Enso and Tetra Pak are set to partner to provide circular solutions to the Polish beverage carton market. The investment in a complete recycling solution is set to significantly improve recycling throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
The partnership, that follows a comprehensive feasibility study, sees the introduction of a large-scale carton repulping line at Stora Enso’s Ostrołęka production unit in Poland. The line will triple the annual recycling capacity of used beverage cartons in Poland from 25,000 to 75,000 tonnes. This will allow recycling of the entire volume of beverage cartons sold in the country and the ones coming from neighbouring countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
The total investment is €29.1m. Stora Enso will invest €17m into a new repulping line that will recover the carton fibres. Tetra Pak along with Plastigram will invest a total of €12.1m to build an additional line. It will recover and separately recycle the polymers and the aluminium, using a patented separation technology. Both lines will be operational in the beginning of 2023.
The separated materials will be used as raw materials for various end applications. Recycled fibres will be integrated into Stora Enso’s recycled board. The separated polymers and aluminium will be given new life in the form of different kinds of products, such as pellets and foils. The investment aims to contribute to the development of a circular economy at a country level. It will be fully aligned with the European Green Deal. The collected cartons will be managed in an environmentally sound manner, making full use of the materials resulting from the recycling process.
