Itero to build plastic waste recycling plant at Brightlands Chemelot Campus

UK-based recycling technology company Itero will build its first demonstration plant for recycling plastic waste at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands, the company has announced. The plant will use Itero’s patented pyrolysis technology to convert waste plastics into oils, wax and gas that can be used to produce new plastic and petrochemical products.

Founded in 2010 and based in London, Itero has created a leading technology that converts hard-to-recycle plastic waste into a raw material that can be used to produce new plastic products. According to Itero, it ‘is on a mission to help solve the global waste plastic problem. As a complementary process to traditional recycling methods, its process reduces emissions associated with both the disposal of plastics by landfill and incineration, and the production of new plastics from fossil-derived petrochemicals.

The new, single-module 27,000 t/a demonstration facility will convert mixed, plastic waste into recycled naphtha, recycled waxes, pyrolysis oils and gas.

The plant will be located at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Europe’s first Circular Hub. The lease was signed at the end of 2020, allowing Itero to set up a base of operations at the campus.

Bert Kip, CEO of Brightlands Chemelot Campus, is excited about Itero’s arrival, calling it a ‘perfect fit in this environment’.

Itero CEO Simon Hansford agrees, explaining that the ‘facilities at Geleen and the support are perfect’.

“The first plant will demonstrate our ability to efficiently make valuable raw materials from waste plastic with minimal residual waste needing to go to landfill. But importantly, we can deliver this in a profitable and sustainable way.”

 Construction of the demonstration plant is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2022. The plant represents an investment of €25 million and is due to be operational from 2023. The company will meanwhile work on further optimising its production process using its UK R&D facility.

Itero also plans to build a larger scale commercial facility in the local region with other opportunities for expansion being explored. The initial demonstration plant represents a single module recycling facility, and this will be scaled up at future plant locations by adding modules side-by-side.