In Sweden, a new sorting plant for plastic packaging is being built by a company that is jointly owned by fillers, importers, trade and packaging manufacturers. The new plant, which will be fully operational in Q1 2019, will meet more than the entire national demand for sorting and recycling plastic packaging from both households and businesses, minimising expensive logistics and long journeys. It is expected to sharply increase plastic packaging recycling beyond the Swedish government’s 2020 recycling targets.
Another initiative in Sweden was the 2015 extension of the deposit fees system for bottles and cans, which is operated jointly by brewers and retailers. Producers of syrup and juices can now participate in the system on a voluntary basis, which will contribute to higher rates of recycling of plastic bottles.