European technology, including Italian, for Nigerian recycling

One of Nigeria's leading post-consumer PET recyclers, Polysmart Packaging, has announced a 60 million dollars expansion plan to build the largest plastic recycling facility in Nigeria, which is expected to become operational in two phases by July 2026. This represents an unprecedented investment for the company, which is thus contributing at the forefront to promoting the circular economy by creating employment opportunities and supporting brand owners in reducing the carbon footprint of their processes and products.

The new facility will be based on high-level technologies including recycling equipment from Italy's Sorema, sorting systems from Norway's Tomra, and two Vacunite 2621T V-LeaN SSP units from Austria's Erema, to process different polymer streams and produce, in particular, high-quality food-grade rPET compliant with EFSA and FDA standards, as well as recycled HDPE, LDPE and PP for non-food applications.

The plant will be one of the largest of its kind with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes of mixed plastics per year, equivalent to the recovery and recycling of over 5.5 billion PET bottles. This will benefit not only the recycling company's operations, but the region's overall recycling capacity, which will be increased by diverting enormous quantities of plastic waste from landfills and environmental dispersal towards productive and economically advantageous uses.

"We are experiencing a transformational moment for Nigeria's economy," said Wasiu Abolaji Balogun, CEO of Polysmart Packaging. "The 60 million dollars investment is not just about machinery and infrastructure: it is an investment in Nigeria's human capital. We anticipate generating thousands of new direct and indirect jobs in waste collection and sorting segments, as well as for technicians and operational staff throughout the entire supply chain, which will translate into resources for a dignified and sustainable livelihood for the population."

Committed to environmental sustainability, innovation and operational excellence, Polysmart plays a fundamental role in reducing plastic pollution whilst simultaneously supporting manufacturing sectors with reliable, locally sourced secondary raw materials. The company is committed to investing in cutting-edge technologies and expanding its capacity, as well as strengthening the waste recovery network to meet growing national and regional demand for quality recycled materials.