Reuse of plastic waste gaining momentum in Estonia

20 October 2010

The Environmental Investments Centre gave the green light to seven waste reuse projects, which in total will receive 91,756,676 EEK of support from the European Cohesion Fund. Of the seven projects, three are focussed directly on using plastic waste as raw material in production or on improving the sorting of plastic waste.


Every year, about 20,000 tonnes of plastic waste is collected in Estonia and depending on the degree of soiling the waste is deposited in landfills, burnt as waste fuel or sent back to circulation through reuse. As plastic waste to be used as raw material in reuse is generally exported from Estonia, the reuse of plastic largely depends on foreign markets and the prices in those markets and also involves the cost of transport of waste in both financial and environmental impact context. The European Union, including Estonia, is consistently moving towards as extensive reuse of waste as possible and the greatest objective is to reduce the generation of waste and use the waste generated as a production resource instead of depositing it in landfills.

One of the newly financed plastic reuse projects is AS Bestor Group's plan to start producing various roofing materials and accessories from plastic waste. That would allow the recirculation of the average of 2,400 tonnes of plastic waste. AS Bestor Group plans to use the awarded grant to construct a production building for a plastic processing plant and to procure the equipment necessary for reprocessing plastic waste and producing building materials.

The plastic waste problem is also addressed by Nelitäht OÜ, who plans to introduce a technology for using soiled plastic waste for producing raw materials for the plastic industry. The project includes an improvement of the current waste sorting system, by which the company will use infrared technology to sort and pick plastic packaging waste suitable for reuse in less time, to a higher quality and in larger quantities. The grant will also be used to procure a washing, drying and packaging line, which will allow the company to re-circulate soiled packages currently sent for burning.

Currently, the third round of the same measure is open for application, with the total budget of 140 million EEK. A half of the budget of this round, or 70 million EEK, is intended for legal persons founded by local governments for establishing waste management centres, reloading stations or waste plants. The other half of the budget is intended for businesses registered in Estonia for developing the reuse of bio-waste collected by type as well as for the reuse of waste, for which targets have been established in legal acts.

The foundation Environmental Investments Centre (EIC) founded in May 2000 is the main mediator of environmental assistance and investments. EIC channels the proceeds from the exploitation of the environment into the development of environmental projects, acts as the implementing agency for the environmental projects funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) and acts as the implementing agency for the Green Investment Scheme (selling the excess CO2 quota and mediating support). EIC also offers the option to apply for loans for the development of environmental projects.