A close up image of four Stena Recycling workers in protective clothing standing together in Stena Nordic Recycling Center
Research & Development

Stena Nordic Recycling Center

Creating greater value and a circular society

Industrial. Scalable. Sustainable.

At Stena Nordic Recycling Center, innovation, experience and expertise combine to deliver safe, efficient recycling on an industrial level. Each process is designed as a scalable concept ready to implement at our recycling plants in Poland and Italy, from which we serve our markets outside the Nordic countries. See how we contribute to a more sustainable future where everyone benefits.

Three male Stena Recycling employees in hi-vis clothing and protective gear work together at Stena Nordic Recycling Center.

Your road to circularity starts here

Stena Nordic Recycling Center began operations in the Swedish town of Halmstad in 2016. We chose Halmstad as a location as it provides easy access to road and rail networks as well as a nearby seaport. This makes it easier to transport large amounts of waste from all over the world to and from the site. Concentrating our processes in one location helps us reduce CO2 emissions, while the facility itself is run using renewable energy. Sustainability starts at home, after all.

Since Stena Nordic Recycling Center began operating, we have invested a vast amount of time and resources in developing advanced recycling processes together with our customers, universities, suppliers and other partners. Using these processes, we can reuse and recycle more complex material in greater volumes than ever before. Today, we collect, reuse and recycle a wide range of domestic and industrial products and complex material – from cars and electronics to batteries, cables and plastics.

One of Stena Recycling's advanced processes in action at Stena Nordic Recycling Center.
An aerial shot of Stena Nordic Recycling Center in Halmstad, Sweden.

An investment in your future

By investing in new recycling processes at Stena Nordic Recycling Center, we have successfully increased the recycling rate by 30% compared with previous processes. This means we can now extract more high-quality raw material from your end-of-life products, which can then be recycled or reused, reducing your climate impact. Our investments also allow us to deliver a steady stream of high-quality recycled raw materials and consistently competitive market prices for scrap.

As well as increasing recycling and reuse, our processes allow us to significantly reduce waste. At Stena Nordic Recycling Center, our processes cut the amount of waste sent to landfill by 50% compared with previously used methods. We can also ensure that you comply with current and upcoming environmental legislation in your market, e.g. by helping you meet the EU directive, which states that 95% of every end-of-life car must be recycled.

Our processes in action

Discover how we recycle LDPE plastic

See how we recycle plastics in used electronics

Watch how we reuse and recycle batteries from electric cars

See how we recycle batteries from electronic waste

Recycled aluminium reduces energy consumption by 95%

Using technology to reach full circularity

At Stena Nordic Recycling Centre, we utilize the latest technology to take recycling and reuse to the next level. Using grinders, mills, magnets, sieves, sensors, X-rays and more, we extract, separate and refine the maximum amount of high-quality material from waste streams – at high speed and with great accuracy. To aid the development of new recycling technology, we created the Stena Recycling Lab. The Stena Recycling Lab is located at the heart of the Stena Nordic Recycling Center and is dedicated to expanding expertise, accelerating innovation, testing new recycling technology and developing new products.

Stena Nordic Recycling Center represents our largest investment to date. It also clearly represents our ambition: to produce high-quality recycled raw materials that can replace virgin materials in production and meet the growing need for circular solutions – from customers and consumers alike. So, whatever materials you deal with, whatever the volume, contact us and let’s discover your potential together.

Our processes meet your sustainability challenges

At Stena Nordic Recycling Center, we have developed a wide range of innovative recycling processes to meet your sustainability challenges. These processes are then implemented at our other certified recycling facilities around Europe.

Two Stena Recycling employees in hi-vis clothing and protective work together at Stena Nordic recycling Center.

Non-ferrous metal processing

Stainless steel, copper, aluminium and other non-magnetic metals are separated from each other. This mixture of material comes from vehicles and other complex products. Before processing, the materials are ground into smaller pieces in a powerful shredder.
The shredder light fraction process in action at Stena Nordic recycling Center.

Shredder Light Fraction (SLF) processing

SLF is a tangled, difficult to sort residue that consists of textiles, foam rubber, wood and small fragments of plastic and metal. Previously, most of the material ended up in landfill. Today, we can recycle a large amount of the metal content, while a lot of the other material can be used as high-quality fuel for energy-intensive industries, or in the production of district heating and electricity.
A female Stena Recycling expert sorts electronic waste by hand at Stena Nordic recycling Center.

First treatment

All used electronic products are handled by specially trained personnel. They manually remove all hazardous waste such as batteries and components containing mercury and PCB, so that no environmentally harmful substances enter the recycling process. This is done manually as there are currently no automated processes that can ensure high-quality results.
A pile of laptops wait to be recycled or used.

Circular electronics

Many electronic products contain screens and other components that still function. At our Reuse Departments, these parts are extracted and tested before being delivered to electronics manufacturers, where they can live on safely in new products.
The precious metal recycling process in action at Stena Nordic Recycling Center

Precious Metal Recycling (PMR)

Decontaminated electronic products are processed in an advanced, automated system. Copper and aluminium fractions are extracted, along with circuit boards containing gold and silver. Even plastics are extracted for recycling. Plastic containing brominated flame retardant can be used as fuel.
The plastic recycling process in action at Stena Nordic Recycling Center.

Plastic recycling

New, high-quality raw materials are produced by recycling plastic from electronic products and packaging film – the recycled plastic raw material from packaging film is equivalent to the raw material produced by oil. Existing plastics can be use again, which saves fossil resources.

Did you know?

Stena Nordic Recycling Center measures 433,000 m² – the same as 80 football fields.

Our fragmentation plant crushes approx. 1500 tonnes of scrap per day. In one week, it crushes an amount equivalent to the Eiffel Tower.

Every year, we extract approx. 450kg of gold. This is more than an average gold mine and enough to make 30,000 wedding rings.

Every year, we extract enough stainless steel to manufacture 2 million sinks. (1)

Stena Nordic Recycling Center saves 870,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

The recycling rate for refrigerators at Stena Nordic Recycling Center is 98%.

References

  1. Stena Recycling calculation
Three red motorway flyovers passing over a railway line

Sustainable industry solutions that benefit everyone

At Stena Recycling, we provide sustainable solutions for tens of thousands of customers across a wide range of industries – from retail, manufacturing and the public sector to processing, infrastructure, automotive and end-of-life vehicles. With our wide range of sustainable industry solutions, we can create greater value for your business and a more sustainable world where everyone benefits.

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