The company Veolia has been selected to develop five strategic projects Within the framework of the Circular Economy PERTE, the support program promoted by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) to accelerate the transition to a more resource-efficient production model, these initiatives focus on the plastic recycling in Spain and in obtaining high-quality secondary raw materials for industry.
Thanks to this award, the company will reinforce the modernization of its facilities in Torremejía (Badajoz), Alcalá de Guadaira and Los Palacios (Seville)where more than 130.000 tons of plastic waste are already managed annually. The projects will introduce cutting-edge technologies, new recycling solutions, and improvements in the quality of recycled material, with a clear focus on reducing waste, minimizing the generation of microplastics, and increasing the use of recycled plastic in key sectors.
A key PERTE for the circular economy of plastics in Spain
The Circular Economy PERTE is a call for proposals with a budget of 150 million euros which aims to mobilize investments to reduce waste generation and promote its reuse, recycling, and recovery. In this first phase of support, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has selected 115 projects from among 201 proposals received, distributed across 14 autonomous communities and with an implementation horizon until October 2027.
Within this package of initiatives, Veolia has secured €9 million in financing to deploy five projects focused on plastic recycling. The company emphasizes that this institutional support recognizes both its innovative capacity and its technical expertise in the treatment of plastic waste and in the production of recycled materials suitable for demanding uses.
The funded actions are aimed at consolidating secondary raw material supply chains that allow industry to reduce its dependence on virgin resources, a growing priority in the European Union in the face of supply security challenges, pressure on natural resources and climate objectives.
According to the company, PERTE has become one of the most powerful tools available to Spain for to promote innovative industrial projects that accelerate the transition to more circular models, in which waste becomes a resource and materials have multiple useful lives.
Modernization of the Torremejía plant: from complex PET to advanced recycling
A significant portion of the projects will be developed at the Veolia plant in Torremejía (Badajoz), specializing in the recycling of PET suitable for food contactThis facility will focus on improving the treatment of particularly complex plastic fractions, such as PET in tray form or opaque PET, which currently pose major difficulties for mechanical recycling for food use.
The goal is to move towards chemical recycling solutions that allow these materials to be recovered and transformed into new, high-value resources, preventing them from ending up as energy recovery products. This change in approach represents a further step in the waste hierarchy, placing material recovery above simply obtaining energy.
In addition, the plant will incorporate new systems for sorting, washing and real-time quality controlTools that will help increase the purity of recycled PET and, at the same time, reduce the potential risk of release of microplastics during the process. These technologies will allow for fine-tuning the treatment, detecting deviations, and correcting them automatically.
Another highlight is the adaptation of the facilities to the potential needs that may arise from the future implementation of Deposit, Return and Refund System (DRRS)Having equipment prepared to process materials from this system will facilitate the integration of larger volumes of post-consumer packaging into recycling circuits.
Alcalá de Guadaira and Los Palacios: higher quality grains and agricultural recycling
The other projects will be deployed at the plants of Alcalá de Guadaira and Los Palacios (Seville)These facilities specialize in the processing of industrial, post-consumer, and agricultural plastics. Investments at these centers are focused on significantly improving the quality of the high- and low-density polyethylene granules produced.
By incorporating advanced technologies, Veolia seeks to ensure that these recycled granules can be used in more demanding applicationsThis is especially true in the packaging sector and other applications requiring stable technical properties and strict quality controls. Increasing the yield of these recycled materials opens the door to replacing more virgin plastic in various products.
The Seville plants will also be integrated high-precision filtration systems and more efficient washing processesThese systems are specifically designed to optimize the recycling of plastics from the agricultural sector. This waste typically contains high levels of dirt and complex mixtures, requiring specialized technologies to recover high-quality material.
With these improvements, the company aims to address a very common need in many European agricultural areas: Properly manage the plastics used in greenhouses, coverings and irrigationpreventing them from ending up abandoned or mismanaged and turning them into a stable source of recycled raw materials.
Innovation, eco-design and collaboration with industry
Veolia's strategy regarding the Circular Economy PERTE (Program for the Implementation of the Circular Economy) is not limited solely to investment in machinery and processes. The company actively works with manufacturers and brands to make their packaging more recyclable, providing you with ecodesign services, detailed recyclability analysis and certifications that guarantee the behavior of products at the end of their useful life.
This collaborative approach aims to ensure that, from the design phase, packaging is conceived with recycling in mind, reducing the presence of materials that are difficult to separate, problematic inks, or incompatible layer combinationsThe better products are designed for recycling, the easier it is to obtain quality secondary materials that can be reintroduced into the production chain.
According to the company, these types of services help businesses adapt more quickly to European regulatory requirements regarding packaging and wasteThese initiatives are moving towards more ambitious targets for recycled content and reuse. At the same time, they strengthen the competitiveness of industries committed to more circular solutions.
Veolia's country director in Spain, Daniel Tugues, emphasizes that the awarding of these five projects “It guarantees technical capacity and commitment of the company in the transformation of plastic waste into high-value resources” and fits with the vision of accelerating the transition to a more innovative and sustainable economy.
Green public procurement and promotion of recycled plastic
In addition to its industrial activity, Veolia promotes initiatives to ensure that public procurement becomes a lever for demand made from recycled materials. In this regard, the company has collaborated with the University of A Coruña Foundation and with ANARPLA in the development of a “Guide for the promotion of recycled plastic in public procurement”.
This tool collects environmental clauses and criteria Ready to be incorporated into tender documents, the aim is to make it easier for public administrations to include recycled plastic in their contracts. Given the weight of the public sector in the European economy, green procurement can have a significant ripple effect throughout the entire value chain.
The guide is intended to serve as a starting point for bidding entities to better define their environmental requirements. avoid potential technical or legal barriers and feel more confident when demanding recycled materials in construction projects, supplies, and services. In this way, institutional demand can consolidate stable markets for secondary raw materials generated by plants like Veolia's in Spain.
From the perspective of the circular economy, this combination of industrial investment, technological innovation, ecodesign and sustainable public procurement This is key to closing the plastic loop, guaranteeing both the supply and demand of quality recycled materials.
With these five PERTE Circular Economy projects, Veolia reinforces its role as one of the relevant players in the Advanced plastic recycling in SpainCombining improvements at its Badajoz and Seville plants with ecodesign initiatives, certification, and green public procurement, these actions aim to increase the availability of high-quality secondary raw materials for European industry, reduce dependence on virgin resources, and move towards a model where plastics are managed as valuable resources, not simply as waste.
