On March 13, 2025, the old-fashioned recycling Austria AG (ARA) and the SRP secondary raw material production GmbH Austria opened Austria’s first polyolefin processing plant in Pöchlarn in Lower Austria. In the presence of high-ranking political and business representatives: the innovative project was presented inside. After two years of procedural development and a process patented by the ARA, the state -of -the -art system has been in full operation since March 1 and processes up to 30,000 tons of recycling material per year.
In the past, separated plastic packaging that are not recyclable because they are too polluted, consisting too small, consisting of different chemical substances or coatings, were sorted out and then only used as a replacement fuel. With Upcycle, the ARA has developed a procedure to keep these sorting remains as valuable secondary raw materials in the circulation. The process is implemented by the SRP raw material production. The majority, the plastic residue processed at Upcycle, comes from Triplast: the high -tech plastic sorting system of the ARA and its partner Bernegger and the green dot went into operation in June in the Upper Austrian Ennshafen in June and reaches a unique sorting depth of 80 percent in Austria. Upcycle wins from the remaining 20 percent of the plastic packaging that cannot be processed Thanks to the innovative procedure, up to 50 percent of the valuables back, with the result of high-quality polyolefin recyclates in a purity of at least 90 percent. These are then processed mechanically or chemically by industry as a secondary raw material.
“With the Upcycle project, 30,000 tons of recycling material are processed annually. This is an important contribution to the circular economy and strengthens Lower Austria’s reputation as a green and smart economic region in the heart of Europe, ”emphasizes Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner As part of a video message message.
Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf In his speech, confirmed the importance of the system: “With this system, Lower Austria underlines its pioneering role in the area of the circular economy and innovation. It is another important step towards a sustainable future and shows how we can efficiently keep resources in the circulation. ”
In a valley group with representatives of the ARA and SRP, Austria’s first polyolefin system was illuminated from various perspectives. 50 percent of the SRP secondary raw material production is owned by the Kirchdorf group and the top environmental service.
“It is of central importance to keep raw materials in the circulation for as long as possible and at the same time achieve the ambitious EU recycling targets for plastic packaging. Upcycle makes an important contribution to this with new technology. Mechanical and chemical recycling processes complement each other for a closed cycle and thus deliver additional recyclates that would otherwise be lost, ”said ARA board member Thomas Eck.
The location in Pöchlarn was deliberately chosen to enable a 360-degree cycle economy. The close cooperation between the municipality, waste disposal and the cement industry created a unique cooperation. The non-recyclable residual factions are used in a CO2-optimized thermal recycling by Kirchdorfer cement, a specialist for environmentally friendly cement production. “Our project with ARA is a prime example of a win-win situation. We prioritize the material recycling, but not everything can be used material. We use these materials in the Kirchdorfer cement plant as a replacement fuel. This protects valuable resources and at the same time reduces CO2 emissions. By using replacement fuels, we can almost completely replace fossil fuels such as gas or coal, which leads to one of the highest substitution rates in the industry, ”explains Erich Frommwald, CEO of the Kirchdorf group.
But the new system also offers significant advantages at the local level. The project is not only an enrichment for the economy, but also an important step for the sustainable development of municipalities. “The GVU has always campaigned for innovative solutions for the communities and the people in the district. With the ARA and the Upcycle project, a competent and equally innovative partner was found to strengthen the region as a business location together with our subsidiary, SRP GmbH, ”so Martin Leonhardsberger, chairman of the GVU Melk, who is the owner of the TOP environmental service together with Kerschner Environmental Service and Logistics.
“We can look back on 95 years of experience in waste management, in which we developed from a waste disposal company into a recycling company. We want to advance the circular economy, Upcycle makes an important contribution here. The process is unique worldwide and we can gain valuable knowledge for the future together, ”explains Reinhard Kerschner, Managing Director Top Environmental Service GmbH and Managing Director Kerschner Environmental Service and Logistik GmbH.
About the ARA
Future. Circulation. Business. For more than 30 years, the old-fashioned recycling Austria AG (ARA) has been working as a driving force of the Austrian waste and circular economy and is the market leader among the collection and exploitation systems for packaging, electrical devices and batteries.
ARA with its subsidiaries ARAPLUS GmbH, Austria Glas Recycling GmbH, Digido GmbH, Digi-Cycle GmbH, ERA GmbH and Triplast GmbH is now considered an international best practice and develops tailor-made disposal solutions in the waste and circulatory economy: from dismissal to material current management to circular design and digitization of the circular economy. ARA AG serves more than 15,000 customers. It is owned by domestic companies and does not act as a non-profit company.