Tarragona is consolidating itself as one of the epicenters of chemical recycling in Spain Thanks to the commissioning of two pioneering plants that promise to change the way the most complex plastic waste is managed. These facilities, located in the city of Tarragona and the municipality of Flix, represent multimillion-euro investments and are presented as a new key link in the circular economy connected to the area's powerful petrochemical hub.
The arrival of this technology represents a qualitative leap for a territory with a long industrial tradition, but also a response to a global problem: Most plastics are still not recycled and end up in landfills, incinerators, or directly in the environment. The new plants aim to take advantage of precisely those waste materials that conventional mechanical recycling cannot handle, returning them to the production chain as secondary raw materials.
A new industry based on chemical recycling in Tarragona
The province is preparing to host a new industry based on the chemical recycling of plasticswith two projects already in advanced stages. One is the Greenertis plant in the Riu Clar Industrial Park in the city of Tarragona; the other is the 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling complex in Flix, in the Ribera d'Ebre region. Together, these two initiatives represent an investment of over 80 million euros and are expected to create nearly 100 stable jobs.
These plants are designed to complement mechanical recycling, not replace it. Their focus will be on dirty, mixed or very low quality plastic waste which today have no other option than incineration or landfill. In this way, the Tarragona petrochemical industry will be able to receive raw materials again in the form of oils and intermediate products with which to manufacture new plastics, closing the circle of circularity.
This step is especially relevant when considering the international contextAccording to data handled by the promoting companies, Only about 9% of plastics are recycled globallyWhile hundreds of millions of tons end up as waste each year, the Tarragona project aims to demonstrate that it is possible to recover value even from the most problematic fractions.
In addition to the environmental impact, these projects represent the implementation of years of applied research in chemistry and industrial processesIn the case of Greenertis, we are talking about nearly a decade of technical work and testing since they began exploring these cutting-edge solutions in the middle of the last decade.
Greenertis: Riu Clar's large plant and pyrolytic oil
The largest infrastructure is located in the Riu Clar Industrial Estate in TarragonaGreenertis has made an initial investment of around 30 million euros to launch a plant considered completely new from a technological point of view, in which 21 people have already been hired for this first phase.
The facility is on the verge of beginning industrial operations. The company anticipates that, in this initial phase, Approximately 8.000 tons of plastic waste enter the plant annually., mainly from the gray bin and made up of mixtures of different types of polymers. From there, through pyrolysis processes, they will be converted into about 6.000 tons of pyrolytic oil or “circular oil”.
This pyrolytic oil is intended to partially replace the crude oil used as a base to manufacture new plasticsIn this way, the final product from the Greenertis plant is directly integrated into the Tarragona petrochemical chain, which will be able to produce packaging and other items without relying on so much virgin fossil raw material. The company also estimates savings of approximately 5.000 tons of carbon dioxide per year in this first phase.
The company's roadmap doesn't stop there. Greenertis has planned a second stage of expansion which will raise the total investment to just over 70 million euros. This new phase, supported by a 6,5 million euro grant from the PERTE Circular Economy program of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, will allow the workforce to increase to over 60 employees and multiply current treatment and production capacities sixfold.
The planned schedule indicates that the Additional investment will begin at the end of this yearThe plant, with assembly scheduled to continue throughout 2027, is expected to be fully operational around 2028, thus culminating a nearly decade-long cycle of technological development. Tarragona was chosen as the site due to the high concentration of petrochemical companies in the region and the existing infrastructure for handling these types of products.
2G Chemical Plastic Recycling: Flix's project and slow pyrolysis
The second major axis of this new map of chemical recycling in Tarragona is located in Flix, in the Ribera d'EbreThere, the 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling plant will be built, which will largely replicate Greenertis' philosophy: capturing plastic waste that cannot be mechanically recycled and transforming it through thermochemical processes into raw materials reusable by industry.
The Flix project envisions an investment of around 13,7 millones de eurosThe plant, supported by approximately €2,1 million in state aid under the same circular economy incentive program, is designed to operate using slow pyrolysis, a process that, according to the company, allows for the recovery of up to 85% of the polyolefin fraction contained in the treated waste.
To achieve this, the complex will have between five and six industrial reactors, and it is estimated that It will generate between 35 and 40 direct jobs.The company already has prior experience in this field thanks to a unit operating since 2021 in Ascó, where it runs a pilot reactor employing around 20 people. The move to Flix therefore represents a significant step in the scale of the project and its local economic impact.
2G Chemical Plastic Recycling officials emphasize that the new plant is designed to accommodate highly contaminated, mixed or very low quality plasticsThese are precisely the materials that are currently discarded from the traditional recycling system. The technology developed aims to add value to a fraction that represents a significant portion of the waste ending up in landfills worldwide.
The choice of Flix is not accidental. The town has a long industrial history and skilled workforceThis facilitates the implementation of projects of this type. Furthermore, its proximity to the Tarragona petrochemical complex and the region's logistics routes reinforces its role as a strategic point within the new plastic waste management system.
Economic impact, employment and institutional coordination
Between the two plants, the province of Tarragona will mobilize a joint investment of approximately or exceeding 80 million euros and will create around 100 direct jobs across the region. These are significant figures for municipalities seeking to consolidate value-added employment and strengthen their productive fabric with activities linked to the ecological transition.
Public aid also plays a significant role. The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has allocated 12,7 million euros to six projects in the province linked to the circular economy of plastics, including the Greenertis and 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling initiatives. In the specific case of Flix, the implementation of the grant is conditional upon a deadline extending until November 2027.
Business promoters, however, emphasize the need for a greater coordination between the different administrative levels so that urban planning and environmental permitting schedules are aligned with the deadlines for receiving aid. They argue that a more streamlined permitting process would facilitate taking full advantage of the economic incentives and reduce risks to investments.
Even so, 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling has expressed its willingness to continue with the construction of the plant in Flix even if complications arise in the grant application process. The commitment to chemical recycling is seen as a long-term opportunity that does not depend solely on short-term public support.
In terms of employment, both in the city of Tarragona and in Flix, the creation of Specialized jobs in reactor operation, maintenance, and process engineeringIn addition, there are indirect jobs linked to the transport of waste and products, auxiliary services and activities derived from the petrochemical sector's own supply chain.
Pyrolysis and the chemistry of recycling: this is how waste transformation works
The technology that supports these plants is based on the pyrolysisA thermal degradation process of materials in the absence of oxygen. Unlike combustion, this does not involve a burning reaction, but rather a controlled decomposition that breaks down the chains of plastic polymers and transforms them into simpler fractions, primarily oils and gases.
In practice, this allows “return to the initial molecule” that gave rise to the polymerThe clearest examples are found in packaging: a plastic bottle, after passing through pyrolysis reactors, is reduced to basic chemical components that can be used again as raw material to generate equivalent plastics or plastics adapted to other industrial uses.
This approach is considered complementary to mechanical recyclingWhile the traditional system is suitable for relatively clean and homogeneous fractions, pyrolysis can process mixed, degraded, or contaminated waste that currently has no other outlet. Therefore, proponents insist that there is no direct competition, but rather a new market opening up to provide a solution for what was previously considered worthless waste.
The key, according to experts in the field of chemistry, lies in moving towards closed circuits in which all possible resources are recoveredespecially in regions with a strong industrial presence like Catalonia. The plants in Tarragona and Flix fit into this vision of an expanded circular economy, in which the boundary between waste and resource is becoming increasingly blurred.
From an energy perspective, the facilities will be able to be supplied by own supply or from external networksDepending on its final configuration, however, the real underlying challenge lies in ensuring a constant flow of raw materials—that is, plastic waste suitable for the process—in a scenario where reduction and reuse policies will also become increasingly important over time.
Global context: only a small part of plastic is recycled
Tarragona's commitment to chemical recycling is best understood from a global perspective. The figures used by leading companies and consultancies are compelling: it is estimated that Approximately 350 million tons of plastic are generated worldwide each year.of which only a small fraction ends up being effectively recycled.
According to estimates cited by the development companies, only around 30 million tons, about 9% of the totalCurrently, some 70 million tons are recycled. However, approximately 70 million tons are incinerated, and nearly 250 million tons end up in landfills or are dispersed in the environment. Of this latter portion, a significant amount, around 10 million tons annually, ends up polluting the oceans.
With this data on the table, chemical recycling is presented as a additional tool to improve recovery ratesThis is especially important when it comes to complex, mixed, or contaminated waste that mechanical recycling cannot handle. It's not a single, miracle solution, but rather another tool within the range of options for reducing pressure on landfills and ecosystems.
In Europe, moreover, the issue is not only environmental. Experts insist that the development of proprietary technologies for recycling and waste recovery It is key for Europe and regions like Catalonia to reduce their dependence on third countries for critical raw materials.
Similar to what happens with batteries or microchips, a race is starting to ensure stable supplies of basic materials for industry. In this context, the possibility of obtaining some of these raw materials from plastic waste or organic fractions is seen as a strategic element within the continent's sovereignty and economic security policies.
Tarragona as a hub for circular economy and advanced chemistry
Both the Greenertis plant and the 2G Chemical Plastic Recycling plant are fully integrated into the chemical and industrial tradition of TarragonaThe region is home to one of the most important petrochemical complexes in southern Europe, and the integration of these new recycling technologies reinforces its position as a key hub in the transition towards more circular models.
The area also boasts leading scientific institutions, such as the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ)who have been working on applied research lines focused on waste reuse and the development of more efficient processes. From this academic perspective, it is emphasized that the transition from theory to industrial plants is essential for laboratory advances to translate into real-world impacts on the ground.
Industry experts point out that we are facing an industry that practically didn't exist a few years ago And now it's beginning to take shape with concrete facilities, jobs, and associated value chains. The expectation is that, over time, new business opportunities will emerge related to process optimization, the design of more recyclable products, and integrated waste management.
At the same time, the companies themselves acknowledge that There is still much to research and refineIn terms of both reactor efficiency and the quality and stability of the products obtained, technical evolution can be rapid if collaboration between industry, administration, and knowledge centers is maintained.
Against this backdrop, the province of Tarragona consolidates itself as a full-scale laboratory of the circular economy of plastics in Europewhere the economic, environmental, and social viability of chemical recycling will be tested in the medium and long term. Monitoring its operation will provide valuable insights for other regions considering implementing similar initiatives.
The deployment of chemical recycling plants in Tarragona and Flix combines private investment, public support, technological innovation, and the leveraging of a solid existing industrial base to address one of the major challenges of our time: what to do with the plastics that are not currently recycled. The integration of these facilities into the Tarragona petrochemical complex, the creation of skilled jobs, and the production of circular oils that replace petroleum make the province an emerging leader in the circular economy, while also strengthening Catalonia's and Europe's energy independence in raw materials.
