LIFE Aganfoils

Attero B.V. 

Attero B.V. recycles waste from one in three Dutch households. In our drive to recover reusable materials and reduce landfilling, we have pioneered cuttingedge technologies to extract reusable materials from domestic waste on an industrial scale, either converting them into energy or reprocessing them as new products.

Larger with Life

Between 2016-2019, the EU LIFE Programme will invest €3 million in the €28 million Aganfoils project to recycle low-density polyethylene (LDPE), the kind of plastic often used in food wrapping and shopping bags. LIFE supported the construction of two recycling facilities in which Attero B.V. now supports the circular economy by transforming intractable LDPE foils into plastic granules that can be recycled into materials that are as good as new foils (Aganfoils).

EU added value

• Boosted plastic recycling to 70%
• Protect natural environments
• Recycling facilities created 28 jobs Prospects
• Mitigate over 500 tonnes CO2 a year
• Cut foreign imports of petrochemicals
• Produce energy from wase heat

Prospects

• Mitigate over 500 tonnes CO2 a year
• Cut foreign imports of petrochemicals
• Produce energy from waste heat

Achievements

• Demonstrated that plastic foils can be recycled as versatile, high-quality plastic granules
• Recycled plastic foils and other sources of LDPE from municipal solid waste
• Launched two demonstrations plants capable of recycling over 24 000 tonnes of plastic a year
• Streamlined water and heat recovery to reduce the environmental impact of the process
• Entered talks with Procter&Gamble to use material for packaging dishwasher tablets

Policy support

• Underpin the EU plastics strategy to make all plastic packaging recyclable by 2030
• Recycle domestic waste to avoid landfilling as set out as in the EU Waste Framework Directive
• Safeguard resource for EU businesses as laid out in the EU action plan for the circular economy