A chemical recycling plant for plastic waste is to be built in Gelsenkirchen, reports Euwid.

According to Euwid, a majority of the Gelsenkirchen city council approved a development plan last week that will allow the oil company to expand its refinery site in the Scholven district as a next step. BP is reportedly planning to build a plant there together with a partner with a throughput capacity of 360,000 tonnes of used plastics per year. A yield of 60 to 70 per cent was to be expected. This could result up to 252,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil per year, which could then be used for the production of petrochemicals such as propylene and ethylene. According to BP, the pyrolysis plant could create 160 new jobs. BP is pursuing the goal of being climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest.
 
According to Euwid, the Left Party, Green Party and The Party voted against the development plan at the council meeting. Burkhard Wüllscheidt (Greens) justified the rejection by saying, among other things, that the citizens' objections had not been sufficiently addressed. The parties believe that the development plan, which still has to be examined by the Münster district government as the supervisory authority following the resolution on the articles of association in Gelsenkirchen council, is "legally on shaky ground".
 
Sources:

• euwid-recycling.de (19.2.2024)
• Photo: © BP