Tomra Strengthens Its Commitment to Circular Economy
Tomra is actively assisting the Norwegian government in its effort to develop a national circular economy. To this end, the company’s president and CEO Stefan Ranstrand recently met with Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry Torbjørn Røe Isaksen to discuss relevant issues associated with the topic.
The two consulted at the Romerike Avfallsforedling (ROAF) facility, which is located near Oslo, Norway and is the world’s first fully automated sorting facility for household waste. During the visit, Ranstrand offered an introduction to Tomra and its role in the circular economy.
The ROAF was opened in 2014 and makes use of sixteen Tomra sorting machines for municipal solid waste (MSW).
“The meeting at the ROAF facility provides an excellent opportunity for Tomra to highlight both our solutions in operations today and strategic initiatives we are implementing to help propel the development of the circular economy further. Close collaboration between government policy makers and industry is vital in the effort to successful build the infrastructure and processes necessary to expand the circular economy,” stated Ranstrand.
Norway also opened a newer facility built in Stavanger, which became operational in January 2019.
“Whereas the plastic sorted at the ROAF facility is shipped elsewhere for further processing, the plastic stored by the 22 Tomra sorting machines at the IVAR facility goes directly to washing and granulate production lines onsite. The granulate created of the individual plastic types PP, LDPE and HDPE can then be used directly for the production of new plastic items,” explained Tomra’ recycling business development manager Oliver Lambertz.