RecyOuest, France, has successfully started up the world’s first recycling line for agricultural plastic waste nets at its mill in Argentan. Over the past 20 years, with the evolution of agricultural practices, new wastes have emerged such as agricultural round bale nets used to maintain animal fodder. These single-use nets were now waiting for a recycling solution. RecyOuest has set up an industrial process for recycling plastic material from agricultural supply waste. The first objective is the recycling of these nets made of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE).
The ANDRITZ recycling line can process up to 8,000 tons of waste and produce recycling fibers for nonwoven applications and also for pellets made of waste from agricultural single-use plastic nets and twines. These pellets are then returned to the plastics industry by mixing both recycled and virgin raw materials, thus reducing the amount of virgin plastic used. This line, inspired by the techniques from textile waste recycling, is equipped with a unique mechanical dry-cleaning system that allows resource savings by avoiding the use of water and chemicals. This state-of-the-art ANDRITZ equipment allows RecyOuest to produce recycling fibers for nonwoven applications and also pellets for ever-new eco-designed nets and twines for the agricultural sector, with the lowest possible environmental impact.
Marcela Moisson, Founder and President, RecyOuest, comments: “We are very grateful for the excellent cooperation with the R&D team from ANDRITZ, who fully supported us in their technical center. Thanks to ANDRITZ Laroche’s expertise in the textile industry, we succeeded in finding the exact process required for recycling agricultural waste, which was a huge challenge.”
