Circular economy – today’s waste is tomorrow’s raw material
A circular economy minimizes waste across a product's lifecycle — from thoughtful initial design through to efficient end-of-life management.
Recycling technologies are a key pillar of the circular economy.
In 2009, we were early pioneers of chemical recycling, and today, together with Borealis, we’re working to become European leaders in recycling technologies.
This goal aligns with our commitment to reducing the production of fossil resources. By replacing them with renewable or circular raw materials, we can continue to supply essential products while minimizing environmental harm.
ReOil®
Our proprietary ReOil® chemical recycling technology transforms end-of-life plastic into circular solutions. This process allows us to reclaim the value of plastics otherwise destined for landfill or incineration. The resulting pyrolysis oil serves as a raw material for producing new, high-quality plastics.
Our ReOil® pilot plant has been up and running at the Schwechat refinery since 2018, accumulating over 29,000 cracking hours. Built on the experience gained from this pilot unit, we operate a ReOil® plant at our Schwechat refinery with a processing capacity of up to 16,000 metric tons of mixed plastic waste per year – equivalent to the annual plastic waste generated by 160,000 Austrian households.
Our ReOil® plants are ISCC PLUS certified, which ensures that the circular content is verifiably tracked and traced throughout the supply chain. This approach allows for accurate accounting of materials at every stage of the production process, providing a clear and credible way to attribute recycled content.
Europe’s largest sorting facility for chemical recycling
We’re working with Interzero to build and operate Europe’s largest sorting facility for chemical recycling in Walldürn, Germany. The innovative sorting plant will be fully automated with a capacity of up to 260,000 metric tons of mixed plastics annually, focusing on materials that cannot be mechanically recycled. These plastics will become feedstock for our ReOil® plants, supporting our efforts to create a circular economy for plastics. Production start of the new plant is expected to take place in 2026.
Borealis’ integrated, circular way
Borealis is leading the transition to a circular economy for plastics. Borealis’ circular cascade sets out a whole-lifecycle approach to minimizing the negative impact of plastics on the planet — from product design through to end of life. Find out about Borealis circular economy initiatives:
- Design for eco-efficiency
- Reuse
- Design for recycling
- BorcycleTM M
- BorcycleTM C
- The BornewablesTM