Used cable finds a new life
Every year 40,000 tons of electric cable is discarded in Sweden. For several years Stena has been participating in a project to develop new recycling methods so that fractions besides copper can be recycled and used as a raw material. Stena recycles cable in several locations in Europe, where we utilize patented technology to separate the plastics. Polyethylene is sold as fuel, while PVC is finding a wider range of applications, including in the manufacture of garden hoses. Importantly, we have been able for the first time to successfully recycle plastics with the same properties as new, petroleum-based plastics. This means that production waste from cable manufacturers can be supplied as a raw material to the same manufacturers. And the more we successfully recover from this waste, the more customers get paid for it.
Urban Mining - A forgotten resource right before our eyes
Large amounts of valuable material are going to waste in society. This includes everything from broken mobile phones lying in desk drawers to copper bolts used in old infrastructure projects.
Stena serves as a partner to help identify resources that can be recycled from the soil and in buildings, analyzing which materials will produce immediately positive results, and in the long term as a partner to collect and recycle this material. Customers include utilities, property owners and manufacturers.
Landfill mining: Searching for buried raw materials
There are thousands of landfills that potentially pose a risk to the environment. As part of a landfill mining project, Stena is assessing Swedish landfills with recycling potential. In addition to removing hazardous waste, there are metals that with today’s methods we can recycle and sell, and in this way reuse the material. Basically it's like looking at an old dump like a mine.
New generation of cars charged with lithium ion batteries
In a project financed by the EU, we are focused on recycling the new generation of batteries in electric cars, for example. At present only the cobalt from these lithium ion batteries is recycled, but since several newer models no longer contain cobalt we are evaluating how to recycle other parts of the battery. Visit the official project site APPLES.
Waste converted into useful biogas
We collect organic waste from several customers and sell it as various forms of recovered energy. Now we are evaluating opportunities to extract biogas from various types of organic waste.
Microwave drying of food waste
Together with our partners, we have received a grant from the EU to study microwave drying of food waste. Using microwave heating, the waste dries quickly and odors are eliminated. The goal of the project is to reduce the weight of the waste by 85 percent. Customers include ships and restaurants that handle large amounts of waste in limited space. The powder that remains could potentially be reused in fertilizer, fuel and animal feed.
Fluff: Reusing car interiors and steering wheels to heat homes
Fluff is what is left behind at our recycling facilities after old cars and other complex waste are shredded and sorted. It can consist of plastics, rubber and textiles. Together with our partners, we have found a solution to recover the energy from this fluff instead of throwing it in a landfill where it does no good. The potential market is huge. If all the fluff in Europe were utilized, it would be equivalent to 1 million m³ of oil, enough to heat 400,000 homes a year.
Fiberglass reinforced plastics become a new resource
The plastics in old wind turbine blades can find new uses with the help of microwave pyrolysis. With a grant from the EU’s LIFE program, Stena is evaluating this method to see whether the plastics and fiberglass can be separated from each other. The recycled fiberglass can be used in new fiberglass reinforced plastics or as construction material. The technology would also make it possible to recycle fiberglass from other products such as pleasure boats or mobile homes.