Tomra and AB Plasta advance film recycling in the Baltics
Key takeaways
- AB Plasta integrates Tomra’s AutoSort SpeedAir and Insight systems to improve purity and efficiency in recycling post-consumer PE film waste.
- The Lithuanian recycler and plastic bag producer now achieves high-quality PCR film suitable for direct reuse in consumer packaging.
- The collaboration supports EU Packaging Waste Regulation compliance and advances circular production.
AB Plasta, a film recycler part of CEDO Group, has adopted a flexible film recycling line integrating Tomra Recycling’s AutoSort SpeedAir and Tomra Insight. The company, based in Vilnius, Lithuania, aims to achieve high-purity recyclates and operational efficiency.
With the new line, AB Plasta seeks high-quality PCR film recyclate exclusively from post-consumer flexible packaging waste.
The approach combines raw material optimization and sensor-based sorting.
Michał Bula, sales manager at Tomra Recycling, says: “AB Plasta needed a solution that would enable fully recycled content in its products without compromising on quality. The goal was clear: stable 24/7 operation, high throughput, and exceptional purity levels that meet the standards for direct reuse in consumer products.”
Danas Poderis, managing director of AB Plasta, adds: “Sorting flexible packaging waste into high-quality fractions is one of the most complex challenges in plastic recycling, but by adapting the post-consumer input material to our lines and integrating Tomra’s advanced AutoSort SpeedAir as part of a customized sorting process, we managed to overcome these.”
“We are now able to process post-consumer PE film and produce consistent, high-purity recyclates that meet the demanding expectations of our end customers.”
Integrated recycling and manufacturing
AB Plasta is one of the largest PE recyclers in Central and Eastern Europe and has over 60 years of experience in plastic processing. The company integrates recycling and manufacturing in a single plant, which is said to enable a “fully circular production model.”
This approach can facilitate handling post-consumer and commercial film streams on the same line.
The AB Plasta plant produces approximately 35,000 metric tons of recyclate every year. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Tomra Recycling says that AB Plasta’s plant now supports operational efficiency and enables compliance with the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
“Processing flexible film waste, particularly from multiple European sources, is considered a complex task. The input streams are highly contaminated and varied in material composition, making it difficult to produce recyclates of consistent purity suitable for reuse in new packaging,” Tomra Recycling details.
The material is also low in density and often sticky due to organic residues and moisture. Tomra Recycling’s AutoSort SpedAir addresses these issues by stabilizing the material on the belt. This is said to be crucial to ensuring high throughput and economic viability.
Recently, Tomra Recycling patented its food-grade PP and tray-to-tray recycling technologies. It also released nut and wood sorting solutions.
