Start-up scraps recycling investment in Ostend Port due to cheap Chinese plastics
Belgian-Dutch start-up Advanced Plastic Purification International has cancelled plans to establish a plastic recycling facility in the port of Ostend. The influx of cheap “virgin plastics” from China has made the project financially unviable.
The company, which specialises in recycling plastic waste, had planned to process plastic waste into new plastic applications and products but cited an influx of cheap plastics from China as the main reason for scrapping the project.
“The construction plans were in place, environmental permits were applied for and everything was ready to begin,” said port CEO Dirk Declerck. The project aimed to handle 500,000 tons of plastic waste a year via maritime transport and was set to create 110 jobs in Ostend. However, those plans will not move forward.
According to Declerck, the arrival of low-cost “virgin plastics” from China undermined the business model. “The market was flooded with these cheap materials. When recycled products become more expensive than virgin plastics, the business case collapses. That’s what happened here,” he said.
Despite this setback, the port has already secured a deal with another company in the same sector. Declerck: “We’ve signed an agreement with a new business, which we’ll reveal later. It will also create jobs, though on a smaller scale.”
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO KURT DESPLENTER
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