Upper Austria, Ennshafen, July 22, 2025. The high-tech TriPlast sorting plant in Ennshafen has been making a significant contribution to the Austrian circular economy since it went into operation a year ago – and is exceeding expectations. Now the owners Altstoff Recycling Austria AG (ARA), Bernegger and GreenDot are developing a new 35 million euros investment plant, which is being built at the same Ennshafen site and will take plastics recycling to a new level. The UPCYCLE process, developed and patented by ARA, will be used to process up to 41,000 tons of sorting waste plastic every year. The aim is to supply even more high-quality recyclates, including for sensitive applications such as food packaging, in order to strengthen the circular economy and raw material security in Austria and Europe.

By the end of next year, TriPlast is to be enriched by an innovative new feature: The technological centerpiece is the UPCYCLE process developed and patented by ARA for the enrichment of polyolefins, which is already being used in a pilot plant in Pöchlarn, Lower Austria. This means that the sorting plastic residues from the TriPlast output as well as additional quantities from other sorting plants that could previously only be used as substitute fuel – e.g. because they are too contaminated or too small – can be further processed. This increases the yield and recycling rate. The system also offers a solution for processing composite beverage cartons (PolyAl). With the help of upstream fine sorting, individual plastic fractions can also be cleaned in an even more targeted manner to subsequently supply recyclates for high-quality applications: the enriched polyolefin fraction is intended to be suitable for use in the food sector through chemical recycling or even, in the future, through mechanical recycling. The expansion will enable up to approx. 41,000 tons of sorting residues to be further processed.

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