Amsterdam Port Builds Plastic Recycling Hub

The circular plastics hub in the Port of Amsterdam is expanding through the construction of a new plastics recycling plant. Plastic Recycling Amsterdam (PRA), a collaboration between Umincorp and Milieu Service Nederland, commenced construction of a plant this week.

The Dutch port said that this plant, which can be expanded on a modular basis, will initially process 17,000 tonnes of plastics annually and prepare them to be reused.

In the plant, the collected plastics are first washed, shredded and then routed through a magnetic bath. Using Magnetic Density Separation (MDS) technology, the plastics can be separated with a purity of 99% because different plastics have different weights. This technology was originally developed at Delft University of Technology. The sorted plastics can then be processed into high-quality new packaging materials.

Compared with traditional plastics, 90% of CO2 and 75% of costs in the supply chain are saved by using this circular process. This technology accordingly represents a breakthrough in sustainable plastics recycling. That is why Ingka, Ikea’s parent company, announced last week that it will invest in Umincorp.

Jaap Vandehoek, CEO of Umincorp: “With its existing large-scale collection of plastics and the growth of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area in the years ahead, the Port of Amsterdam is the ideal location for establishing PRA. We are determined to make the difference in plastics recycling with our unique MDS technology and the recent investment by Ingka Group.”

Roon van Maanen, Director Circular & Renewable Industry at Port of Amsterdam: “Port of Amsterdam is especially proud to welcome PRA. Using its innovative MDS technology, PRA transforms recyclable plastics into raw materials for new plastics, while non-recyclable plastics are converted into transport fuel by Integrated Green Energy Solutions Amsterdam, which is also established in our Port. Therefore this provides solutions for used plastics and means that Port of Amsterdam is a real circular plastics hub.”