The municipally-owned Belgian waste management and energy group Bionerga has confirmed the closure of its plastic recycling site Fromto in Houthalen. The group cited sustained losses and mounting pressure from low-cost primary plastics and imports.
The operation had been “heavily loss-making for several years”, Bionerga said. “We regret having to shut down operations, but unfortunately we see no alternative. The entire plastics recycling sector in Europe is under severe pressure from cheap virgin plastics and imports from China,” said managing director Philip Peeters. The Fromto site in Houthalen in Belgium’s Flanders region employs 30 people.
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