Leading turnkey waste sorting solutions provider
Bollegraaf at a glance
Bollegraaf & Lubo Recycling Solutions (“Bollegraaf”) has a mission to design and manufacture recycling and sorting systems that take care of the environment, improve people’s quality of life and health through meaningful innovation, and the sustainable use of the planet’s limited resources
Bollegraaf is a leading turnkey sorting solutions provider in Europe and North America, enabling waste management companies and public authorities to efficiently improve their sorting & recycling processes and driving the shift towards a more circular economy. Bollegraaf’s offering covers all major waste streams and sorting applications with strong project management and engineering capabilities and a high share of differentiated in-house manufactured products, such as their Balers, Screeners and AI/Robotics driven technologies.
- Year acquired
- 2024
- Revenue
- EUR 170m
- Location
- The Netherlands
- Employees
- 363
- Website
- https://www.bollegraaf.com/
- Investment theme
- Circularity
- Contact
- bertrand.camus@summaequity.com
The challenges we face:
-
~19%
of waste volumes in Europe are going to landfills, representing a significant share
-
>50%
of waste volumes in the US are going to landfills, indicating it is lagging further behind
How does Bollegraaf help?
Reality today:
CO2 emissions from the current materials system account for 1/3 of global Co2 emissions, causing damage to biodiversity and exhausting our natural resources at an unsustainable rate. In the waste value chain, the EU defines “landfilling as the least preferable option” and is currently drafting stricter regulation due to its negative impact on humans and the environment.
Turning waste into new resources is often limited by low volume, quality of feedstock and lack of sorting, and recycling capacity effectively hindering sufficient materials reuse / recycling.
Bollegraaf approach:
With over 4,000 systems installed globally, including 17 material recovery facilities, each processing over 100 tons of waste per hour, Bollegraaf improves waste sorting and recycling capabilities and capacity. They enable secondary raw material production, thereby reducing the volume of waste disposed in landfills or incinerated. With over 60-years of experience, Bollegraaf has developed deep expertise and a comprehensive understanding of the industry, allowing the company to deliver innovative and effective solutions, with AI-driven sorting solutions at the forefront.
Aspirational future:
A world where waste becomes a vital resource, fueling a sustainable circular economy.
Who is impacted?
- Waste producers: commercial & industrial customers, construction companies, by enabling proper treatment of their waste
- Material producers: enabling incorporation of recycled or recovered waste into their manufacturing processes
- Consumers and society: benefiting from circular resources, requiring less virgin materials and less emissions
What are the impact considerations?
Additionality:
Through best-in-class equipment, Bollegraaf is enabling more efficient treatment and higher purity levels of waste for waste management firms. This again is facilitating material producers’ incorporation of recycled or recovered waste into their manufacturing process, ultimately leading to lower emissions as less waste is directed to landfills, accelerating the transition towards a circular economy.
Risks:
- Sorting and recycling equipment needs to be thoroughly selected (per waste fraction) to optimize cost / yield / purity of the output according to customer needs
- Proper treatment of water discharge, air emissions & other pollutants must be monitored in the sorting plant
