Spanish energy and petrochemical company Repsol has announced an investment of €26m to start a new production line (Reciclex range) for recycled plastics at its Puertollano Industrial Complex in Spain.
Expected to start in Q4 2024, the new line will have the capacity to manufacture 25,000 tons of recycled plastic per year, which is almost double the current capacity of 16,000 tons.
According to the firm, the new recycled plastics production line will establish the Puertollano centre as a benchmark for the circular economy in the Iberian Peninsula.
Repsol said that the new unit will generate 200 direct, indirect and induced jobs in the different phases of construction, start-up and operation.
The investment will help the firm manufacture plastics used to make rigid and flexible packaging for non-food use like cleaning product containers or product packaging sacks.
In particular, the new unit will process HDPE and LDPE materials with 10% and 80% recycled plastic content.
The investment is in line with current laws from Europe and Spain that aim to meet the recycled content goal for plastic packaging of 30% by 2030.
The move will help Puertollano Industrial Complex become a reference centre for the recycling and recovery of plastic materials.
With a circular economy in mind, the firm has plans to make products with low, zero or even negative carbon footprint and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The firm said it will help to respond sustainably to societal change by producing high-value goods with a smaller carbon footprint.
Additionally, Puertollano will launch the first polyurethane foam recovery facility in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.
Repsol has also demonstrated its dedication to the circular economy by becoming a shareholder in Acteco, a waste management and recovery company, and Enerkem, a technology firm in waste gasification.
In December 2020, the firm collaborated with Berry Global to supply ISCC Plus certified circular polyolefins from its Repsol Reciclex range to Berry.