GRANNEX：Expansion of mechanical recycling capacity in Germany

Mechanical recycler Grannex has invested around EUR 20 mn in expanding its recycling capacity at its Osnabrück site. After testing its proprietary recycling process at a pilot plant, Grannex has now scaled up the technology, the company said. At the beginning of 2025, the first full-scale facility based on this process was completed and has recently entered regular operation with a capacity of 16,000 t/y.

The new method can also be used to mechanically process engineering plastics from unsorted waste streams (Photo: Grannex)

“With the new production line, we’re investing in the future of mechanical plastics recycling,” said Grannex managing director Markus Börger. The patented process – developed primarily by Börger – combines shredding, washing, and sorting in a modular system. According to the company, this setup also allows for the processing of unsorted, heavily contaminated, complex plastics waste mixtures.

“This enables Grannex not only to recycle polyolefin-based mixtures with varying proportions of 2D and 3D materials – such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and films – but also to extract engineering plastics like ABS from heterogeneous waste streams and return them to the product cycle,” added Hendrik Scheuschner, who was appointed as an additional managing director in 2023.

The total processing capacity at the Osnabrück site now stands at 20,000 t/y.