Austrian petrochemical producer Borealis has announced a joint venture with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) specialist Reclay Group to develop sorting and recycling systems for plastic lightweight packaging waste, as demand rises for recycled plastic that is suitable for high-end applications.

The venture, called Recycle, will be integrated in the collection and sorting segment via Reclay and in the recycling segment through Borealis.

"For Reclay, Recelerate will help grow the reach, scale and impact of EPR," Borealis said "For Borealis, it will open up supply of post-consumer plastic waste to be recycled with its Borcycle recycling technology."

Reclay Systems is one of the official 'dual systems' that packaging producers can sign up with to comply with Germany's EPR scheme for plastic packaging waste. Borealis has invested in mechanical recycling, through its acquisitions of recyclers MTM Plastics and Ecoplast in Germany and Austria, respectively. It is deciding whether to proceed with a chemical recycling project at its Stenungsund, Sweden, petrochemical plant, which would convert waste plastic into cracker feedstock.

By Will Collins