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Why We Are Investing in the HC Plastics Plastic Recycling Plant

Together with recycling specialist Hündgen, the CLASSEN Group has opened a new plastics recycling plant. Here, plastic waste is processed into PP recyclates for our CERAMIN®products.

Since November 2022, Swisttal has been home to one of the most modern plastic recycling plants in Germany. Here, approximately 15,000 metric tons of plastic waste are processed each year for further use in industrial processes. By recycling polypropylene (PP) packaging film—which was previously mainly incinerated—the Classen Group is setting new standards in plastic recycling. Mayor Petra Kalkbrenner and other representatives, including officials from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, were enthusiastic about the project.

Recycling Without Losses

The newly founded company HC Plastics GmbH is a joint venture between the two family-owned businesses W. Classen GmbH & Co. KG and Hündgen Entsorgungs GmbH & Co. KG.
As a recycling expert, the waste management company developed this innovative sorting technology and machinery in collaboration with experts from the Classen Group. The recycling plant produces a secondary raw material that largely serves as the basis for our CERAMIN® flooring. In this way, seemingly worthless plastics are upcycled into a durable, robust, and environmentally friendly product that is itself 100 percent recyclable.

Everyday trash is turned into high-quality flooring

Most people are probably familiar with recycled waste products like yogurt cups or gummy bear wrappers from their everyday lives. Until now, PP film was considered more or less unsuitable for recycling due to its soft and loose texture. As a result, the film was usually incinerated—with the corresponding consequences. On the one hand, once disposed of, the raw material is no longer available for the recycling cycle; on the other hand, incineration primarily produces CO2 as well as harmful carbon monoxide.

An Exemplary Circular Economy

The collaboration between these two family-owned businesses is a prime example of a successful circular economy, as the high-quality PP recyclates form the basis for the production of our CERAMIN® flooring. Hündgens’ expertise in the recovery of secondary raw materials provides the perfect complement. Both companies are pooling their many years of experience and sustainability expertise in HC Plastics GmbH, founded in 2021. The collaboration is guided by the motto “Recycling meets Industry, Industry meets Recycling” and is pioneering even beyond the flooring industry.