PET Baltija announces development of a new PET recycling plant

PET Baltija, one of the largest PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) recyclers in Northern Europe and part of Eco Baltia, the largest waste management and recycling group in the Baltics, has announced the investment of over €10 million as part of the development of a new PET recycling plant in Olaine, Latvia.

This joint project is being delivered by Eco Baltia, which is backed by the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, in collaboration with Piche, a leading industrial park developer in Latvia. The total investment exceeds €35 million. 

“The main objective is to increase the food grade rPET pellet production capacity and provide the necessary conditions for the company’s further development, as well as to strengthen our market share within the European market. This will undoubtedly create additional value for our customers and partners respectively, as well as provide better working conditions for our employees,” comments Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board at Eco Baltia.

The plant will be one of the largest and most modern PET recycling factories in Europe and one of the largest industrial buildings in Latvia. Its total indoor area, including production facilities, office space and various shared facilities, will reach a total of ~30,000 square metres. As part of the project, PET Baltija’s existing Latvian factory in Jelgava will gradually be relocated to the new production facility in Olaine until the end of Q1 2024. 

With the factory currently under construction, the plant’s initial phase was celebrated in early May. This marked the installation of the first production equipment located within one of the completed production areas.

The recycling equipment is provided by Starlinger, an Austrian manufacturer and one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of recycling technologies. In Europe, only two production plants are currently equipped with Starlinger equipment of this level, while globally there are only ten such examples. Therefore, the PET Baltija factory will also be one of the most modern PET recycling factories in Europe and the wider world in terms of its technology.

Plant to comply with latest energy efficiency standards

The new PET Baltija recycling factory and industrial park is being developed by the leading industrial building developer in Latvia, Piche. According to Piche CEO Pēteris Senkāns, the PET recycling plant is one of the company’s largest and most complex projects of the year. “Like other industrial parks developed by Piche, this project also adheres to the highest of energy efficiency standards,” Senkāns comments. 

Following the sustainability strategies of Eco Baltia and PET Baltija, which aim to reduce resource consumption and promote a circular economy, the building will comply with the BREEM® sustainable construction standard and will be fully powered by renewable energy.

The factory will also have unique wastewater treatment equipment which will significantly reduce the consumption of chemical substances in the wastewater treatment process. In addition, the factory will have a highest of standards air recuperation system which will reuse excess heat energy generated during the PET melting for heating the building.

When completed, the total number of jobs at the new factory will exceed 250.

Source: Press release (www.petbaltija.lv).
Publicity photo by Ieva Makare.