Sutco completes commissioning at Norway plastics sorting plant

The facility has been developed as a joint venture between TOMRA Feedstock and Plastretur, operating under the new brand Områ.

Located in Holtskogen Business Park, Tomter, just outside Oslo, the plant is designed to serve as the country’s national hub for sorting post-consumer plastic packaging waste.

It aims to have a maximum processing capacity of 90,000 tonnes per year.

Following cold commissioning earlier this year, the site entered its hot commissioning phase on 25 April, processing real waste for the first time.

Full commercial operations are scheduled to begin in November 2025.

Plastretur CEO Karl Johan Ingvaldsen said: “On behalf of Plastretur, I’m proud that our initiative to establish a national sorting facility for plastics is now becoming a reality.”

‘Technologically advanced’ plastics sorting

As the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor, Sutco worked alongside engineering consultant Mepex and in collaboration with TOMRA Feedstock and Plastretur to deliver the complete project design and planning.

This included integrating high-capacity mechanical systems with TOMRA’s sensor-based sorting technology, enabling the production of eleven plastic fractions suitable for both mechanical and chemical recycling.

Joachim N. Amland, Senior Vice President and Head of TOMRA Feedstock, said: “We’re using TOMRA’s most advanced sensor technology and machine learning capabilities to deliver feedstock material recyclers can actually use.”

The plant will also incorporate Sutco’s ProDigit platform, a modular digital solution for real-time process control and system monitoring.

This will allow operators to oversee material flows, monitor throughput rates, track energy consumption and assess equipment performance both on-site and remotely.

Sutco added: “With Områ, we’ve delivered one of the most technologically advanced plastic sorting facilities in Europe. The combination of intelligent mechanical engineering and digital precision via ProDigit positions this plant at the front-end of the circular economy.”