Iterum, formerly known as PET Baltija, has opened Latvia’s largest PET recycling plant in Olaine.
At a planned capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year, the plant is one the largest PET recycling facilities in Northern Europe and one of Latvia’s largest industrial buildings. It spans an outdoor area of around 40,000 square metres, and a total interior area covering 30,000 square meters including production facilities, office space and various shared facilities.
Iterum says the new PET recycling plant is one of the most modern in Europe, including equipment of a level that has only been installed in two production plants in Europe. Machinery distributors include Austria-based manufacturer Starlinger.
The Olaine plant is a joint project representing an investment of over €35 million, including over €10 million from Eco Baltia, the parent company of Iterum.
Next to producing 15 different recycled PET grades, including food-grade, Iterum also has the capacity to process production by-products, such as bottle labels and caps, into new raw materials. Almost 100% of its production is exported.
“The main sales countries are Lithuania, Germany, Finland, Poland and other regions of the world,” Jūlija Zandersone, the chairman of the board of JSC Iterum said in a statement. “Although Latvia is territorially small compared to other European countries, we can be proud that in terms of PET processing with high-quality production, we are able to reach up to 5% of this market share. We believe that the new Iterum factory is a new step for the further development of PET recycling, aiming to increase its market share even more.”
Sustainability is one of the main pillars of the factory’s operation, Iterum said in a statement. The building will partly run on renewable energy and features an air recovery system that uses excess thermal energy generated in the PET melting process to heat the premisses. Iterum has also installed wastewater treatment equipment, a first for Latvia, which allows it to reduce chemicals consumption in the wastewater treatment process.
The new factory will also create more than 250 jobs
Source: sustainableplastics.com
