Norway has taken a major step toward managing its own plastic waste with the commissioning of its first dedicated plastic sorting plant. The facility, named Områ, began processing its first bale of plastic waste on April 28, entering the “warm” phase of commissioning. This follows two months of “cold” commissioning, during which equipment was tested without materials.

Located in Holtskogen Næringspark near Oslo, Områ is a joint venture between sensor-based sorting technology leader Tomra and Plastretur, the nonprofit producer responsibility organization (PRO) in charge of plastic packaging recycling in Norway. The project marks a €50 million investment, with Tomra holding a 65% stake and Plastretur the remaining 35%.

The plant is designed to process up to 90,000 tons of plastic annually. Once fully operational, Områ will sort mixed plastic waste from Norwegian municipalities into seven distinct plastic types, creating high-quality fractions ready for recycling. The facility is expected to officially open Nov. 5, 2025, with material volumes gradually ramping up throughout the summer.

“Sorting is essential to increase the degree to which plastic can be recycled,” said Joachim N. Amland, senior vice president and head of Tomra Feedstock. “At Områ, we’re using our most advanced sensor technology and machine learning to produce the quality raw materials recyclers need.”

Plastretur will continue sourcing plastic packaging waste from Norwegian municipalities, businesses, and industries, delivering it to the plant. Tomra will handle the grading and sale of the sorted plastic output.

Until now, Norway has relied on facilities in Central Europe to process its plastic waste. Områ will help shift that dynamic, positioning Norway to meet its national recycling goals while encouraging further investment in domestic recycling infrastructure.

The facility also reflects a shift in mindset toward more sustainable resource use. The name “Områ” is derived from Norwegian words meaning “to rethink” or “reconsider,” and combines “om” (about/around) and “rå” (raw). Oslo-based design firm Cretalux developed the name and visual identity for the plant.

“The goal was to create a unique Norwegian name that reflected the concept behind the facility — rethinking resources,” said Line Støtvig, general manager at Cretalux. “The inclusion of the Norwegian letter ‘å’ was also a deliberate choice to highlight circularity.”

As the plant moves forward with commissioning, Tomra encourages all Norwegian municipalities to direct their plastic waste to Områ, advancing the country’s shift toward a circular economy.

TOMRA Feedstock operates under TOMRA Horizon, the TOMRA Group’s venture arm created to explore new business models and adjacent market opportunities using the company’s long-standing technology and expertise. Its mission is to close the plastic circularity gap by recovering mixed plastics that are currently lost to landfills or incineration.

TOMRA employs advanced sorting technologies—such as Autosort and deep learning—to accurately identify and separate different types of plastics for recycling. This includes sorting materials like PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), and PP (polypropylene), as well as distinguishing between food-grade and non-food-grade plastics.