On Friday February 7, 2020 the inter-municipal IDEA (Coeur du Hainaut) and IPALLE (Picardisch Wallonië en Zuid-Henegouwen), and two privat parties specialised in environment, SUEZ and VANHEEDE, announced their partnership for the construction of a sorting center for the processing of PMD waste from Valodec in Ghlin-Baudour. This public private cooperation, initially started by SUEZ and IDEA, evolves from two to four partners to boost the circular economy in Henegouwen.
Today, Valodec via the center of Cuesmes stands for the sorting of PMD waste being collected in a region of more than 600,000 inhabitants. The sorting center of Cuesmes started over more than 15 years ago. Since than a lot has change and is reform necessary to answer today’s requirements the sorting and recycling of the different materials being collected via the PMD system or container parks. This was in 2017 the start of theoretical exercise for an innovative industrial project.
The sorting center of Valodec will become operational in the 2nd trimester of 2021, and will be an innovative en zal een innovatief en evolutionary center to adapt to the extension of sorting standards. The center will be able to simultaneously sort the different plastics of the usual PMD waste.
“SUEZ has European experience in this extended waste sorting”, clarifies Philippe Tychon, General Manager of SUEZ Recycling and Recovery in Belgium. “The center will be equipped withe the most advanced sorting techniques – optical sorting, air and ballistic separators – specifically for sorting of films and thin-wall plastic containers. Eventually we also want to sort on black plastic (like strawberry packaging) which would be an exclusive for Belgium”.
The site of ± 3 hectares chosen for this project is located around Coeur du Hainaut at the Ghlin-Baudour Nord business parc which is destined for industrial activities.
The construction of this installation with an annual capacity of 50,000 ton sorted ‘PMD’ will start in May 2020. In time this installation will produce 14 sorted fractions of municipal packaging waste from 2 million inhabitants of the different Belgian communities and more specifically of Coeur du Hainaut and Picardy Wallonia.
