Hallingplast is building a new facility to recycle 10,000 tonnes of plastic

Hallingplast is taking a big step into the circular economy. 10,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastic per year becomes raw material for new products in a newly built facility. Can old plastic be turned into good quality, safe pipes?

The new facility is completed and will be tested in November 2024. Hallingplast is thus taking an important step into the circular economy. In the new facility, we can recycle 10,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastic pipes per year. 
This means 10,000 tonnes of high-quality plastic raw material – mainly PE100 – which would otherwise be a waste problem. Now the material can be recycled into new products for use in both water supply and sewage, industry and cable protection. 

• How can old PE and PP pipes be recycled into full-value material?
• Are there really 10,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastic pipes available for recycling every year?
• What can recycled plastic pipes be used for? 

These are just some of the issues we have been working on in recent years.

New factory for recycled PE and PP plastic

Most visible from the outside is a new building of 4,500 square metres, of which 3,800 square metres are indoors and 700 square metres are a covered outdoor area.

The plant will produce pellets from recycled plastic. 

The building is in Kleivi Syd, across the river from the Hallingplast factory in the Kleivi industrial area outside Ål in Hallingdal.

Also read: Länk  Recycling of PE pressure pipes and PP waste water pipes 

Simply put, plastic materials are recycled in two stages. First, we grind the plastic into particle-sized granules like beads, which can be further processed in the pelletising plant. We melt the granules into a homogeneous mass, add stabilisers and extract plastic pellets that can be used to manufacture pipes and fittings. 

Existing pelletising plant at Hallingplast. The new plant has ten times the capacity.

End-of-life plastic pipes become new raw material in Hallingplast’s new recycling facility.

But before production, we have another important phase of the process for recycling plastic materials: Collection of used plastic and sorting into varieties and qualities. 

The new plant will primarily produce raw materials in the form of pellets, which in turn will be the raw material for the production of pipes and fittings in PE and PP. The pellet raw material looks like the usual raw material we use in all our production. 

Grinding and pelletising

The crushers grind pipes and fittings into smaller fragments that can be handled in bulk. That plant was already in place since we invested in new and upgraded grinding equipment in our main factory a few years ago. We have recycled production waste for over 30 years, so this process is nothing new to us at Hallingplast.  

PE and PP are ground into particle-sized granules like beads. Visitors to Hallingtreff viewing the existing facility.

The new pelletising plant is completely new and complements the plant we are already operating, increasing our pelletising capacity tenfold. Used plastic has been heated several times and lost some of the stabilisers in the material. In the pelletising process, new stabilisers are added to renew the plastic material. The new material can withstand heating and has a long service life, just like other plastic raw materials. 

The new factory building also features a facility for injection moulding PE and PP fittings. This is not directly related to recycling, but it is a practical way to streamline Hallingplast’s factory and production flow.  

Sverre Tragethon, CEO of Hallingplast AS, in front of the new recycling facility, planning for which began in 2021–22.

The new factory emerged at the same time as we became one of seven partners in the SirkAQ project just over a year ago.

Also read: Länk  SirkAQ-project 

For example, Norwegian fish farms generate large amounts of end-of-life polyethylene used for pools and cages. Much of the plastic is old and worn out. This material is excellent for recycling. 

Are there 10,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastic available for recycling every year?

There are large amounts of end-of-life plastic both in the water supply and sewage industry but also in other infrastructure and industry, for example from fish farms.

They are quite different segments, but they use pretty much the same types of pipes. Pipes from the water supply and sewage industry must last for at least 100 years. It takes a long time for the material to wear out and be collected. 

However, there is a significant amount of material from plants that is ready for recycling now. Examples are temporary pipelines in construction projects, installations that have had to be excavated due to faults or conversion, and some underwater pipelines that are taken up because the owner is laying new pipelines. 

We also see some recycling potential from industrial pipelines.

NPG – The Nordic Plastic Pipe Association – has carried out a project to test the collection and sorting of plastic from construction sites. At only four or five different construction sites, 11 tonnes of plastic were collected in a short period of time, the largest proportion being PE100 pipes. These are high-quality plastics that should be returned to the producers’ material flow.

Applications for recycled plastics 

The potential is great, even in infrastructure. But there is still much to be done in terms of collection and sorting. 
This is still a relatively new area, but awareness is increasing. In the future, the standards for infrastructure products will allow a higher proportion of recycled raw materials – provided that the manufacturer can document characteristics and service life. 

Recycled plastic will hardly be used as a raw material for pressure pipes. But in non-pressurised pipe systems, such as storm water, wastewater and cable protection pipes, recycled materials have great potential. 

Hallingplast’s new facility represents an investment of NOK 150 million. In addition, we are investing an additional NOK 150 million in the existing plant. This investment and the potential of the new factory in the circular economy are a natural part of Hallingplast’s history. 

Important investment for Hallingplast

Throughout its history, Hallingplast has taken major steps forward and made major investments. In 2008, we made the largest investment so far by investing in a new factory. 

The new recycling plant is also a big and important step.

For us at Hallingplast, it is important to take responsibility for what we do. As we enter the circular economy, we want to help our customers return their products to a circular cycle. It also creates new business opportunities and new jobs to ensure that end-of-life plastic materials are returned to new high-quality products and can be shipped to the right markets. 

For Hallingplast, it has been an incredibly exciting and fun journey, and we see how this investment creates pride among our employees. The project has promoted a commitment and creativity that we are very proud to have in our company. It is also great to see the commitment our project inspires elsewhere.

We hope that Nordic pipeline owners will look positively on the trend toward increased use of recycled plastic. Hallingplast is committed to producing one of the world’s best recycled granules for plastic pipes and fittings. We are excited to see what uses this raw material will find. Although we are taking a big step forward with this venture, it is still just a start.