Austrotherm: Recycling plant for EPS and XPS insulation materials in Purbach fully commissioned

A look inside the Purbach recycling facility: EPS and XPS offcuts are collected, processed, and fed back into the production cycle here - (Image: Austrotherm).

Austrotherm has brought a recycling plant for EPS and XPS insulation materials into full operation at its Purbach site. In this form, the facility is considered unique in Austria and represents a further expansion of the company’s own circular economy activities. Following a successful trial phase, regular production has been underway since 2025. For 2026, the company expects to return around 100 tonnes of EPS and XPS insulation waste to the production cycle. The total investment in the project amounts to approximately EUR 1.2 million.

The recycling plant complements Austrotherm’s existing take-back systems. Since 2021, the company has already offered a nationwide take-back service in Austria for clean XPS construction offcuts. Collection is free of charge, either directly from construction sites or by delivery to the Purbach site. In autumn 2024, this offering was expanded to include a recycling service for EPS insulation materials. The basis for this is the research project “EPSolutely,” within which an Austria-wide logistics concept for EPS recycling was developed together with partners along the value chain. In total, six EPS manufacturers ensure free take-back as part of this initiative.

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With the new plant, Austrotherm significantly expands the previous scope of insulation material recycling. While earlier processes were limited to clean, single-type production and construction waste, the Purbach facility will in future also be able to process EPS and XPS insulation materials from demolition and refurbishment projects. This includes, among other things, complete external thermal insulation composite systems as well as materials with adhering contaminants. A prerequisite is that the insulation materials were placed on the market from 2018 onwards. Older products containing the now-banned flame retardant HBCD are currently still excluded from recycling.

The recycling process comprises several processing steps, including material feeding, pre-crushing, granulation, dedusting, and the separation of contaminants using magnetic and heavy-particle separation. The recovered material is temporarily stored by type and processed further into recyclate, which is then reused in insulation production. The plant is designed for an annual recycling capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes.

Further testing and optimisation phases are planned in the coming months in order to further increase the efficiency and output of the plant. In parallel, Austrotherm is working within the framework of research projects on solutions that will make it possible to recycle older EPS and XPS insulation materials containing HBCD in the future.

The Austrotherm Group is family-owned in Austria and operates 35 production sites in 14 countries. The company employs around 1,500 people and generated revenues of EUR 500 million in 2025. Austrotherm is part of the Schmid Industrieholding.

More information: www.austrotherm.at

Austrotherm GmbH, Waldegg/Wopfing, Austria

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