img_OMV_Herbst_22_Recycling_3000x1000PX_en

Circular Economy

Once waste, turned into valuable raw material.

OMV is not just a reliable partner for energy supply in Austria. We are already researching tomorrow’s solutions today and invest in innovative recycling projects such as the patented ReOil process. We strive to contribute to recycling the majority of plastic waste in Austria as valuable raw materials and lowering CO₂ emissions.

What does the new OMV recycle?

What does the new OMV recycle?

We recycle a material that’s indispensable to our everyday lives and is too valuable to simply throw away: plastic. We turn waste into raw material for producing new high-quality plastics using innovative recycling processes. This is circular economy.

How does the new OMV recycle?

Mechanically and chemically. Mechanical recycling is mainly handled by Borealis, which has been part of the new OMV since 2020 and has already been running two large recycling plants of its own in Austria and Germany since 2016 and 2018 respectively. Here, plastics are sorted, shredded, cleaned and recycled into new plastic. However, the new OMV is focused on chemical recycling. With an innovative process developed in Vienna, plastic that would normally be incinerated is turned back into crude oil. The oil is then processed for producing new plastics.

What’s so special about the OMV patented recycling process?

What’s so special about the OMV patented recycling process?

With the standard mechanical recycling process, only unmixed plastic waste can be recycled and reprocessed into plastics. Thanks to our chemical recycling process, the plastic waste can be converted into synthetic oil in an intermediate stop - and is thus the starting product for the production of virgin plastics for demanding applications.

What can the new OMV’s chemical recycling process achieve?

What can the new OMV’s chemical recycling process achieve?

The goal of the new OMV is to recycle the majority of Austria’s plastic waste, conserving resources and reducing CO₂. To achieve this, the new OMV is making huge investments: of the 3 billion euros earmarked for the Schwechat site by 2025, around a third will go to new energies and projects that establish a circular economy – like our chemical recycling process.