07 Jan 2022

Unique recycling in Skellefteå - rubber and plastic get new life

Outside Lövånger, Skellefteå, a completely new green industry is emerging - at Ecorub, material recycling is being taken to a whole new level. Here is Europe's only production for recycled rubber and plastic materials.
- This is recycling for real. We can process waste materials so that it is possible to manufacture new products that are sustainable instead of sending them for incineration, says Isac Andersson, CEO of Ecorub.

In what was once a bread factory in Hökmark, north of Lövånger, Ecorub has taken over the 6,600 square meter premises and according to Isac, areas will be needed when planning for expansion - a substantial one.
As early as 2022, he believes that the workforce will be expanded from today's eight to 15-18 people.
- You have to be a visionary. We have something big going on and the timing could not be better. The manufacturing industry is screaming for sustainable alternatives. Look at Volvo Cars, which has stated that 20 percent of the car's plastics will be recycled by 2025 - today it is 3 percent. I am completely convinced that Ecorub will have its breakthrough as a component company in 2022, he says.
Ecorub has developed a unique method that provides a category of materials that it has chosen to call TPRR® (Thermo Plastic Recycled Rubber). The product consists of a mixture of powdered rubber which is mixed with recycled plastic. The result is pellets and depending on which material properties the customer wants, it is possible to change the rubber mixture to achieve different properties. In addition, TPRR® materials are developed especially for the customer's existing production techniques such as injection molding, extrusion and 3D printing.

95,000 tonnes of tires are collected, cut up and fired up in Sweden. In the rubber industry today, in principle, no industrial rubber is reused but instead incinerated. Ecorub believes this is a waste of already manufactured products and also contributes to increased CO2 emissions. In Sweden alone, rubber industries generate thousands of tons of residual products and production waste from their production every year.
- Those who send rubber products for incineration can instead send them to us and achieve what we call Customer Circularity® of their used products and get a new material that can provide even higher quality. If we can make the tire powder live as new products for another 10–20 years, we have extended the "end of waste" to something sustainable. That's how this magic comes about. Should we continue to fire up or should we take responsibility for real? For me, there is only one alternative, says Isac.
When it comes to plastics that are sent for traditional recycling, the result is mixed and unclean and cannot be used for new products. With Ecorub's solution, it is possible to reuse, and the customer gets back a new material which means that they take overall responsibility.
During the autumn, Ecorub launched its view on customer circularity and received a quick response.
- We already have two customers who want to run projects with us. With TPRR®, materials can go around five to six times without losing quality and then everyone understands what gains can be made, both financially and environmentally, says Isac.

He started as CEO in April 2021 and the company has since undergone a restructuring with a changed focus - from an innovation-driven company to investing in the market and what it demands.
- We received an order for 30 tons of TPRR® fairly quickly and more inquiries are underway. When we talk locally produced, we think of the whole of Sweden. We do not think that Swedish companies with waste products should send their products to landfills in the third world or where they do not have a holistic approach. We want to get away from scandalous images we saw in the SVT documentary about foreign plastic handling, he says.
Swedish Plastic Recycling is investing billions in Motala at a large sorting plant, and in November new figures came in which showed that we only recycle 10 percent of all plastic in Sweden.
- There is an incredible amount of plastic to work with in Sweden, but there are also materials that should not be included in such a process, then it is better to get the clean flows directly and avoid the sorting plant and there I strongly believe that Ecorub can fill an important function, says Isac.

He has a master's degree in economics with a background in entrepreneurship that has been in environmental companies for most of his career.
- I am passionate about doing something for the environment. You cannot just close your eyes and talk. I have fought privately to do source sorting in the right way and now it feels like the industry is waking up and wants to act. Now companies are crying out for recycled alternatives, but the range is still small, Ecorub is unique and can take care of both rubber and plastics.
Ecorub recently exhibited at the Nordic Plastics Technology Fair in Malmö - it became the first real check on the market and the response was positive.
- We had many visitors in our booth, above expectations I would say, with 120 visits and a positive response. I was surprised that all the lectures were about recycling and circularity, but we were the only exhibitors who could actually offer it. Ecorub has come the furthest on that front and we will use that, he says.

With a 3D printer, you can create almost anything with Ecorub's material TPRR®. For example, the logo or a stool - only the imagination sets the limits. The product consists of a mixture of powdered rubber that is mixed with recycled plastic and the end result is pellets that are sold to the customer.