March 7 (SeeNews) - Romanian electric and electronic equipment waste (WEEE) recycling company GreenWEEE International said on Tuesday that it plans to invest 8.5 million euro ($9 million) in a new processing plant as well as in upgrade of its existing plant and expansion by the end of 2017.
GreenWEEE will invest 3.5 million euro in a new recycling plant in Campia Turzii, in northwestern Romania, the company said in a press release.
The plant is expected to start operating in June. It will have a processing capacity of 25,000 tonnes of electric and electronic equipment per year. Some 80 people will be employed there in the next three years, general manager Marius Costache said in the press release.
GreenWEEE will also invest 5 million euro into modernisation and expansion of its existing plant in Buzau, in southeastern Romania. Following the investment, the unit will be equipped with the first recycling facility for LCD equipment in Romania. By modernizing the plant, GreenWEEE aims to increase its productivity and energy efficiency.
The Buzau plant currently has a processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year. It provides collection, treatment and recycling services, collaborating with WEEE management organisations, sanitation companies, waste collectors, as well as companies generating volumes of electrical and electronic equipment waste.
GreenWEEE International was set up in January 2007 in Buzau and is currently the biggest integrated treatment plant for WEEE in Romania and one of the most modern in Europe.
It was originally part of the Romcarbon [BSE: ROCE] group of companies which manufactures filters for the automotive industry, gas masks, polyethylene bags, PVC pipes, polypropylene bags and packaging foil. In 2012, Romcarbon sold a 75% stake in GreenWEEE to Green Group, the biggest integrated recycling park in South-Eastern Europe, integrating the operations of six companies specialized in collection and recycling of waste.
Apart from GreenWEEE, the group includes PET waste recycler GreenTech, polyester fibre recycler GreenFiber International, used lighting equipment recycling division GreenLamp Reciclare, GreenGlass Recycling and Total Waste Management, which provides integrated solutions with national coverage for collecting a wide range of waste.
($=0.9444 euro)