A cluster of circular economy projects at Port of Antwerp-Bruges has reached significant permitting milestones, advancing the NextGen District’s development as a hub for industrial-scale waste recovery and resource circularity. Synpet has received environmental and building permits for a EUR 300 million advanced recycling plant, enabling the company to progress toward a final investment decision. The facility will process approximately 250,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste annually, converting material that currently cannot be recycled and would otherwise be incinerated into circular substitutes for naphtha and natural gas through patented technology. The plant is expected to be one of the largest state-of-the-art recycling facilities currently under development globally. TripleW, which already operates a demonstration facility in the NextGen Demo area producing lactic acid from food waste, has been granted an environmental permit for the construction of a commercial-scale plant in NextGen District. The facility will be Europe’s first industrial-scale plant to convert food waste into circular lactic acid, processing up to 100,000 tonnes of mixed food waste annually when it becomes operational in the first half of 2029. The plant is expected to create more than 35 direct jobs, with its lactic acid output used by other companies to manufacture a range of products including personal care and household cleaning goods. Bolder Industries, a US company specialising in tyre-derived materials, has received final approval for its first European production site at NextGen District. Using a continuous thermal pyrolysis process, Bolder recovers up to 98% of the material from discarded car tyres and will develop the facility in two phases to reach an annual processing capacity of 86,000 tonnes. The post Port of Antwerp-Bruges circular economy hub gains momentum appeared first on Container News .