The Bollegraaf Group

The Bollegraaf Group is a world-leading expert and innovator in the waste sorting and recycling industry. Our reputation is based on the unique quality of our recycling machines in terms of separation performance, robustness, and ease of maintenance. A premium quality complemented by the Bollegraaf engineering expertise delivers the best solutions to the specific challenges of each of our customers.

Through continuous and intensive investment in innovation, Bollegraaf offers state-of-the-art recycling solutions for all types of waste streams, from household waste, paper, and plastics up to construction and demolition. This, along with our innovative energy-from-waste technology, provides our customers with a larger recycling capacity, reduced labor and operational costs, and high-quality end products, which ultimately result in increased profits. The total service offered by Bollegraaf includes design, installation, training, and unrivaled lifetime service and support. Smart technologies and solutions based on Artificial intelligence, Robotics, and advanced Engineering are at the core of Bollegraaf’s innovation journey, where contribution to a circular economy is given a central place.

Bollegraaf was founded in the Netherlands in 1961 and comprises the companies: Bollegraaf Recycling Solutions and Lubo Recycling Solutions. The company has also several subsidiaries in Europe and has a stable international sales and aftersales organization.

A couple of years ago we celebrated our 60th anniversary, an unparalleled experience in the recycling industry. Over these years, we have installed over 3500 recycling systems across Europe, the USA, Canada, and Mexico and have built the largest MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities) in the world (up to 70+ tons per hour). This unique expertise makes the Bollegraaf Group the leading player and authority when it comes to advanced mechanical recycling innovation and solutions. The primary objective for Bollegraaf is to provide first-class turnkey recycling solutions with the highest ROI (Return On Investment) for the customer.

We see that population growth and increases in production and consumption will lead to raw materials becoming increasingly scarce. We need several globes to properly support the world population. If everyone lived like in the Netherlands, where Bollegraaf was founded, we would have needed no fewer than 3.6 globes. A sustainable approach to our planet, and thus a transition to a circular economy, is desperately needed. Raw materials must be reused as much as possible, preferably as products of at least the same quality. We want to secure the raw materials for future generations. That's why it's essential to recycle.

Climate change and environmental degradation put the future of Europe and the world at stake. The answer to this is the European Green Deal, which transforms the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy:

• zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
• economic growth without depletion of raw materials
• no person or region is left behind
   

We are also called the ASML of the circular economy, and for good reason! The Bollegraaf Group makes a substantial contribution to transforming countries inside and outside of Europe into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. The reuse of raw materials is the basis of a circular economy.

Working together for a better world is crucial for Bollegraaf to support its international customers with sustainability and enable the transition to a circular economy. Our installations and total solutions can be found all over the world, such as in Mexico and Ghana. Our activities are a good example of successful collaboration and how important that can be. Sustainability is high on the agenda worldwide and green entrepreneurship is essential for our future.

The circular economy occupies a central place in our strategy. One of Bollegraaf's strategic objectives is to accelerate the transition to the circular economy. We do this together with our customers and partners by developing and building effective systems in which materials that are recyclable are collected, recycled, and reused.

The Bollegraaf Group essentially focuses on creating value from the collected waste in an environmentally friendly manner. By continuously and intensively investing in innovation, we offer high-quality recycling solutions. We come up with advanced processes to create high-quality secondary raw materials from all types of waste streams (from household waste, plastic, and waste paper to construction and demolition waste). The challenge is twofold: On the one hand, improving the quality/purity of recovered material and on the other hand, increasing the recovery rate of material. And we do this in an ever-changing environment.

Our vision is clear: There is no such thing as waste, only a pool of valuables that need to be sorted, cleaned, and prepared to re-enter a new life cycle. Working on the true circularity of materials is key and urgent as a means to mitigate the scarcity of natural resources as well as climate change. That is why the Bollegraaf Group focuses on the so-called up-cycling path, where a used bottle will come back as a new bottle.