Around five months after the groundbreaking ceremony, an important construction phase has been completed at the new “Sort4cycle” recycling plant at Ennshafen: the structural shell is now complete. On 23 September, Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA), Bernegger and GreenDot celebrated the topping-out ceremony together with employees and the construction companies involved. Upper Austria’s Governor Thomas Stelzer also toured the construction site to see the progress of this unique European project. The Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management was represented by Secretary General Johannes Abentung.
Sort4cycle is being built at the site of the TriPlast plastics sorting facility. The highly innovative recycling plant is designed to process up to 41,000 tonnes of plastics per year. It will use fractions that, due to contamination, material diversity or particle size, have so far predominantly been sent for energy recovery. The upcycle process developed and patented by ARA will be combined with a novel AI-based secondary sorting system. Commissioning is planned for mid-2027.
“Upper Austria is a strong industrial and innovation hub. Sort4cycle impressively demonstrates how economic strength and a functioning circular economy can go hand in hand. This project not only creates new technological opportunities for plastics recycling, but also adds value and creates skilled jobs in our federal state. The topping-out ceremony is an important milestone on the path to commissioning,” emphasizes Thomas Stelzer, Governor of Upper Austria.
Secretary General Johannes Abentung also underlines the importance of the project: “To achieve the European recycling targets, we must further expand the material recycling of resources. Sort4cycle addresses precisely those areas where recycling has so far reached its limits and creates the conditions for turning plastic fractions that have previously been predominantly used for energy recovery back into raw materials. In this way, we are strengthening the circular economy and security of raw material supply.”
Construction progress marks the next milestoneWith the completion of the structural shell, the plant is now visibly taking shape. The site was deliberately chosen directly next to the existing TriPlast sorting facility. This allows existing material streams to be used and plastics processing at the site to be expanded further. Since 2024, TriPlast has processed up to 100,000 tonnes of material from the Yellow Bag and Yellow Bin collection systems per year.
“A topping-out ceremony is traditionally a special moment for everyone involved in a construction project. We are therefore all the more pleased to celebrate this important construction milestone today together with our employees and the construction companies involved. With Sort4cycle, we are consistently developing the Ennshafen site further and creating the conditions for even more efficient use of valuable raw materials,” says Kurt Bernegger, Managing Director of Bernegger GmbH.
For ARA, the completion of the structural shell is also an important step. “At the groundbreaking ceremony in April, we gave the official go-ahead for Sort4cycle. Today, we can see this project becoming a reality step by step. By combining AI-based secondary sorting with the further developed UPCYCLE process, we are laying the foundation for recycling even more plastic fractions and keeping valuable raw materials in the loop,” says Harald Hauke, CEO of ARA.
Working together for a functioning plastics circular economySort4cycle combines two technological approaches: the AI-based Advanced Scale secondary sorting system is designed to recover high-purity material from complex material streams and prepare it specifically for mechanical recycling. The further developed UPCYCLE process enables the material recycling of plastic fractions that, due to contamination, material diversity or particle size, have so far predominantly been sent for energy recovery.
“With Sort4cycle, we are continuing the successful collaboration between ARA, Bernegger and GreenDot at the Ennshafen site. The new facility is another important step towards providing quality-assured secondary raw materials for the European plastics circular economy. As a producer of advanced plastic recyclates and supplier of secondary raw materials, we see first-hand the growing need for reliable, quality-assured recyclates. Particularly in view of increasing regulatory requirements, solutions are needed that deliver results today while remaining scalable for the future,” emphasizes Denis Völler, Managing Director at GreenDot.
The commissioning of Sort4cycle is planned for mid-2027. The project will create more than 20 qualified green jobs in Upper Austria. In the future, the recovered plastic fractions are also intended to be prepared for high-value end uses, including demanding packaging applications such as food-contact packaging.
GreenDot addresses waste crisisGreenDot is dedicated to address the plastic waste crisis by developing solutions and assets which close the circularity loop of plastics through the production of high-quality recyclates, including from difficult to recycle waste streams. The group’s portfolio spans both mechanical and chemical recycling, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) licensing services as well as consulting on EPR systems and design-for-recycling.
The foundation of the group was laid more than 35 years ago in Germany with Der Grüne Punkt which created the world’s first nationwide EPR program for household packaging, including hard to recycle plastics like flexible films. Since then GreenDot constantly expanded its business areas in order to serve all requirements of the circular economy for plastics. To date GreenDot has presences in Germany, Austria, Italy, France as well as Spain, and continues to widen its global network.
ARA – driving forceFor more than 30 years, Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA) has been a driving force in Austria’s waste management and circular economy sector and is the market leader among collection and recovery systems for packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment and batteries.
Together with its subsidiaries ARAplus GmbH, Austria Glas Recycling GmbH, DiGiDO GmbH, ERA GmbH, ERAplus GmbH and TriPlast GmbH, ARA is recognised internationally as a best-practice example and, as a partner to businesses, develops tailored waste management and circular economy solutions: from producer responsibility compliance and material flow management to circular design and the digitalisation of the circular economy. ARA AG serves more than 15,000 customers. It is owned by Austrian companies and operates as a non-profit organisation. www.ara.at
Bernegger focuses on sustainabilityMoving sustainably for more than 75 years. Founded as a family business in Molln, Bernegger operates in the construction, raw materials and environmental sectors. At 20 locations, around 1,000 employees implement innovative projects with reliability, courage and the combined strength of many hands. These projects have received national and international sustainability awards. In recycling and waste management in particular, Bernegger makes an important contribution to an intact environment. Compliance with high environmental protection standards is especially important to us. Our activities are fully aligned with the circular economy, which at Bernegger is not merely being introduced, but is already being put into practice.
DILIP KUMAR JHA
Editor
dilip.jha@polymerupdate.com
