Greenglass Recycling, market leader in the industry of glass recycling in Romania, based in Popesti-Leordeni, Ilfov since 2013, invests 10 million EUR in a new post-consumer glass waste recycling plant, as well in the modernization of existing facilities, thus increasing its production capacity to 260,000 recycled tons/year.
The plant will be built in the proximity of Bucharest County and construction will start in the second half of 2022 and finish in 2023. With the new investment, in addition to post-consumer glass recycling operations, the new plant will also recycle flat glass from the automotive industry and glass from construction and demolition. It is expected to create more than 100 local jobs during the construction phase and 90 permanent roles once it is complete.
“The company continues its strategic plan of investing in the most modern recycling technologies, at the same time considering waste as part of the economic circuit, where glass is collected and transformed 100% into a valuable resource. Once the new plant will start its activity, Greenglass will be able to recycle all the glass that Romania must meet as a collection target, while being the solution for recycling the materials from the Deposit- Return System. We are also responding to the growing demand from glass manufacturers to increase the share of recycled material in their products, in order to reduce the use of virgin materials,” said Marius Costache, Greenglass General Manager.
For the recycling of post-consumer glass packaging, the plant has invested in modern, optoelectronic sorting equipment. Using this advanced recycling processes results glass cullet with a high degree of purity – at least 99, 99%.
As part of the expansion strategy, GreenGlass will build a new glass recycling plant in the Center – West of the country.
“We aim to create a truly circular economy in Romania, both for packaging glass waste, but also for glass waste resulting from other streams. We consider that a new further investment in the Central-West area of Romania will offer us the opportunity to generate a positive and responsible value and to optimize all operations that are part of the collection and recycling system, meaning proximity to generators of waste, lower logistics costs, less CO2 emissions”, added Marius Costache.
Figures show that at European level the production of glass has continued to increase in recent years, reaching over 21 million tons. The “European Organization of Glass Manufacturers” (FEVE) confirms that glass is more than ever the leading packaging material for spirits, wines and beer, while it is increasingly gaining share in the food, water and dairy sectors. It is the second leading packaging material in Europe in terms of volume.
