Newsitems
Largest sorting plant for PET bottles in Switzerland
Bollegraaf has recently completed the construction of a new sorting plant for the Swiss company AGIR AG. The facility’s main objective is to separate PET beverage bottles from bottles for non-food purposes. Equipped with state-of-the-art sorting technology and a high level of automation, the plant also sorts PET-bottles by color.
A key prerequisite of this project was to ensure that bottles remain undamaged during the sorting process — an essential requirement for manufacturers that want to return bottles to the market as new products. We speak to Mr. Benedikt Bader, Operations Manager and Head of PET Recycling at AGIR.
Mr. Bader, could you briefly tell us something about the plastics recycling market in Switzerland?
We are well positioned in Switzerland, with a growing market and an expanding population. As PET consumption increases in the coming years, the volume of PET waste will also rise. AGIR is well equipped to meet this demand thanks to the Bollegraaf plant’s high capacity and flexible plant design.
While the facility was originally designed for a single-shift operation handling 40 tons per day, it has already achieved up to 70 tons during peak demand. There is strong confidence that such output can be maintained — or even increased — within a single shift. With a transition to two or three shifts, the facility could process up to three-quarters of Switzerland’s total PET volume.
At AGIR, we receive PET bottles that are returned voluntarily by consumers through supermarkets and other collection points. These are then collected, compressed, or sorted into loose bags and delivered to our facility.
“We currently achieve 99% material purity. This result is made possible through a combination of NIR sensors, which perform the primary sorting, and a manual quality control stage.”
AGIR AG primarily operates in gravel extraction and the production of concrete, and is now entering the PET market for the first time. What became the main driver for this decision?
AGIR is conveniently situated near the city center of Zurich, making it an ideal site for the Swiss PET Recycling Association to operate its PET recycling activities. The association awarded the contract to AGIR, marking the company’s entry into a new field: plastic processing.
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The future flexibility of the plant was a key priority in this project. What are AGIR’s ambitions moving forward?
The PET sector is expected to continue growing. Milk bottles used in FMCG will in the future be converted from HDPE into PET plastic, leading to new PET fraction. It would be ideal if our plant could be adapted to handle this new material type in the future.
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What level of sorting quality have you achieved so far?
We currently achieve 99% material purity. This result is made possible through a combination of NIR (Near InfraRed) sensors, which perform the primary sorting, and a manual quality control stage, where the final 2–3% of contamination is removed.
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Who are your customers?
In Switzerland, PET bottle collection is centrally managed by PET-Recycling Schweiz. We process material on their behalf. Our goal is to maintain a closed loop where every PET bottle collected in Switzerland is returned to the market as a new recycled PET bottle. There are two locations in Switzerland where the material is delivered to by AGIR and processed directly into extrusion.
What were the main reasons for choosing Bollegraaf as your supplier?
Bollegraaf made a strong impression during the initial project phase. We were particularly convinced by their implementation plans, early design proposals, and the plant layout — including the positioning of equipment and silos. These aspects together with their logistic concept made them stand out compared to the proposals of the five other competitors.
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How would you describe the collaboration with Bollegraaf, from planning to installation?
It was a strong and reliable partnership. The project manager was attentive and consistently supportive. We are hopeful that we will continue working with Bollegraaf on future upgrades or extensions.
Bollegraaf delivered a highly efficient design with significantly fewer conveyor belts than competitors. The pricing was also very competitive. From our perspective, the price-to-performance ratio offered by Bollegraaf was the best. Their sales and distribution team did an excellent job.
What impact do you expect this project to have on your market position and the industry as a whole?
AGIR still has additional capacity — we are able process more than originally planned. This reflects the high quality of Bollegraaf’s work. We are confident that the plant will enable us to sort more PET bottles in the future and help raise the recycling rate for plastic bottles.
“Bollegraaf delivered a highly efficient design with significantly fewer conveyor belts than competitors. From our perspective, the price-to-performance ratio offered by Bollegraaf was the best.”
Are you considering ongoing service support?
Yes, we value Bollegraaf’s support in terms of maintenance and spare parts. We schedule regular maintenance with them to ensure consistent quality and smooth plant operation.
