Återvinning

How we take care of collected packaging

The packaging waste from households is treated at the sorting and recycling facilities we cooperate with. Our ambition for the packaging we are responsible for is for it to be recycled as much as possible. We therefore reward circular material recycling over linear. If circular material recycling is not possible, however, linear material recycling is preferable to energy extraction.

• What do the terms mean?

  • Material recycling – The packaging waste is processed so that it can be used as raw material in the production of new packaging or products.
  • Circular material recycling – the recycled material maintains a high quality and can be used as raw material in new packaging, again and again – the circular flow is closed.
  • Linear material recycling – the quality of the recycled packaging material is too low to be used as raw material in new packaging. The material is instead used as a raw material in other products, and cannot be recycled more than once. The need for newly produced raw materials remains.
  • Energy recovery – the packaging material cannot be materially recycled but is incinerated. The need for newly produced raw materials remains.

  Read more about what affects recyclability
• Plastic packaging

  All plastic packaging we collect from the municipalities is transported to Svensk Plaståtervinning, for sorting at the Site Zero facility in Motala. Here, twelve plastic fractions can be sorted out at the world’s largest and most advanced sorting facility for plastic packaging.

  Site Zero enables circular recycling of up to 56 percent of the plastic packaging that passes through the facility, 21 percent of the packaging that is sorted can be recycled to a lower quality and the material can rarely be included in new packaging. Some process loss also occurs in the sorting and recycling process.

  The sorted plastic is then sent to certified partners within the EU for material recycling. Svensk Plaståtervinning is preparing to be able to wash and granulate the plastic on site at Site Zero in the next step.

  Read more about Site Zero at Swedish Plastic Recycling
• Paper packaging

  The paper packaging we pick up from the municipalities is material recycled at a recycling paper mill. Simply put, you can say that there are two different processes for recycling paper packaging.
  They either go into a process where it is possible to recycle the paper fibres, also in packaging of mixed materials such as liquid cartons (eg milk cartons). In Sweden, that process is only available at Fiskeby Board in Norrköping, which receives about half of the packaging that we have collected from the municipalities.

  From the recycled paper fibres, Fiskeby produces recycled cardboard which is sold to printers and packaging manufacturers. There, it is printed and punched into various formats, to be resurrected as pizza boxes, pasta packages and the like.

  Remaining paper packaging is transported to recycling facilities in northern Europe. Pre-sorting usually takes place here, where packages of mixed materials are sorted out and sent to energy recovery. This is because most mills cannot handle paper packaging of mixed materials in their process. However, our goal is that all packaging containing paper fiber must be recycled.

  Read more about the recycling process at Fiskeby
• Glass packaging

  The glass packaging we collect from the municipalities is delivered to Svensk Glasåtervinning in Hammar. Here, the glass is broken into smaller shards as a partial step in order to be sorted into raw material that is recycled in the glass mills in the next step.

  About 60 percent of the recyclable material becomes new glass packaging, the rest becomes glass wool and foam glass. Uncolored and brown glass become new packaging in the form of glass jars and glass bottles. Most of the green glass is treated in the same way, but some is crushed and ground into smaller pieces to become raw material for the manufacture of glass wool insulation. Broken glass of lower quality becomes foam glass.
• Metal packaging

  All the metal packaging we collect from the municipalities is delivered to Skrotfrag AB and transported to their facilities in Järna and Ulricehamn. At the plant, the metal packaging is sorted with magnetic help. Manual sorting also takes place where missorted material, such as nitrous oxide tubes, is removed.

  Steel and aluminum packages are separated from each other. The sorted metal packaging is then sent to various smelters for material recycling. All steel and aluminum that is sent to smelters is recycled circularly and becomes new products and packaging. The smelters make plates, profiles and ingots that can become new raw materials or be used for example car bodies, tire rims or engine parts.