Borealis (Vienna / Austria; www.borealisgroup.com) has completed its acquisition of German plastics recycler mtm plastics (Niedergebra; www.mtm-plastics.eu) and mtm compact (Fürstenwalde / Germany), one of Europe's largest producers of post-consumer polyolefin recyclate with an annual processing capacity of 30,000 t/y (for previous coverage, see Plasteurope.com of 03.06.2016). The regrind goes into injection moulded new products used in a wide range of applications. The two sister companies will be merged into the Borealis group, and their managing directors will remain in their roles.

As an industry leader, Borealis is committed to the principles of a circular economy and embraces polyolefins recycling as a strategic part of the business, said Alfred Stern, executive vice president Polyolefins and Innovation & Technology. In recent years, the Austria-based group said it has been “actively advancing” its recycling and sustainability efforts, including its “Daplen” post-consumer recycling (PCR) solutions for the automotive industry, its design for recycling such as the “full polyethylene laminate" to replace non-recyclable multilayer packaging and its “Daploy” high-melt-strength (HMS) polypropylene for improved recyclability. With this latest acquisition, Borealis is now taking its engagement to the next level, Stern said.