GreenWEEE to build EUR 10 million e-waste recycling plant in Romania

GreenWEEE said it would put its third facility in Romania into operation in one year. The investment in the plant for recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment is worth EUR 10 million.

GreenWEEE International, member of the Green Group recycling park, announced it would start building a facility for the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE, early next year. It would be its third plant of the kind in Romania. The company added it would open it in the fourth quarter.

The investment led by private funds is worth EUR 10 million, according to the announcement. The site is in Buzău in the country’s southeast, where GreenWEEE operates another plant, while the remaining one is in Campia Turzii.

The project will be financed by OTP Bank Romania as part of an existing syndicated loan, the company revealed. The overall number of employees will exceed 325 and the recycling capacity will increase by 30%, GreenWEEE said.

E-waste contains valuable materials but also toxic and polluting substances

“Since 2009 we have been committed to paving the way of a strong national circular economy by recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment and introducing on the market secondary raw materials for so many industries. This new plant is in line with the group’s strategic plan of continuous growth of the business through investments in a greener future, through the acquisition of new and innovative technologies, while playing an important part in the GHG emission reduction and keeping the materials in use”, said Marius Costache, General Manager of GreenWEEE.

GreenWEEE said it obtains high-purity fractions as secondary raw materials from e-waste like refrigerators and air conditioning equipment, small and large household appliances, electrical tools and computer and telecommunications equipment.

GreenWEEE says it has a total recycling capacity of 100,000 tons per year

The electric and electronic waste is collected from the local market, from economic operators authorized to take over the responsibility of the producers, from retailers of electronics and appliances, sanitation companies, collectors, as well as through contracts with large producers.

Costache pointed to valuable materials inside e-waste, but also toxic substances. The pollutants are removed in a controlled environment and more than 98% is recovered from the recycled waste, he asserted.

GreenWEEE said it has a total recycling capacity of 100,000 tons per year. Since 2016, Green Group is owned by private equity fund Abris Capital Partners.