Giving plastic waste a new lease of life

Oceanize, comprising the two subsidiaries Containerservice Ottersøy (COAS) and Norwegian Plastic Recycling (NOPREC), has become a national leader in plastic waste recycling.

Since 2011, COAS has used a mobile shredder to collect marine waste from Stathelle in the south to Eastern Finnmark in the north. The company has collected around 17,000 tonnes of discarded equipment from the aquaculture industry, among other materials. COAS sorts and processes the waste before sending it to NOPREC, which turns it into plastic granules. The granules are then sold and used to make new products.

Every kilogram of newly produced plastic that is ultimately incinerated generates five kilograms of CO2 emissions. NOPREC currently recycles 3,500 tonnes of plastic each year. This saves society 17,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually – equivalent to the average emissions from around 10,000 cars!

‘Oceanize is tackling a major environmental problem and creating a circular economy that benefits everyone. It creates value and significantly reduces plastic pollution – that is unique,’ says Roger Hatling, financial advisor at Innovation Norway Trøndelag.

The company has worked with us for many years and received support in several areas, including development funding through the national environmental technology scheme, investment grants through regional development funding, and mentoring support that connects the company with an external mentor.

‘Innovation Norway has been a great help to us. Having worked with us for many years, they know us well and provide excellent guidance that we are very pleased with,’ says the company’s sustainability advisor, Helene Øyangen Lindberg.

Oceanize was founded in 1979, collecting and managing commercial waste. Today, the company has around 30 employees and is one of Norway's largest collectors of plastic. All the plastic it collects from businesses is recovered through either material recycling or energy recovery.

And there is no sign that the small Trøndelag-based company plans to slow down any time soon. It is establishing a new production line to recycle more types of plastic, while building its expertise and further developing its methods and processes.

They also plan to set up their own laboratory to analyse all the plastic in the recycling process, enabling them to meet the plastics industry's strict requirements for documenting the quality and properties of the plastic granulate.

‘We aim to be the centre of expertise people turn to. We want to be Norway’s nationwide recycling facility for industrial plastics,’ says Lindberg.

According to Hatling, the company is a pioneer in its field, and he believes it is remarkable that this small rural business has managed to establish such a prominent role nationally.

‘The people behind Oceanize have built up the company and invested heavily. They have developed their own technology and taken risks with investments that may not deliver returns in the short term, but require ambition and patience. In doing so, they have built a business, created jobs and helped the environment. I am impressed by the company’s determination and drive,’ he says.