Chemical recycling plant for waste plastics authorized in Guijuelo

The Regional Government of Castilla y León has granted environmental authorization to Reciclaje Circular Guijuelo, S.L. for a chemical recycling plant for residual plastics of urban and industrial origin through thermochemical processes in the municipality of Guijuelo (Salamanca). The decision is formalized in Order AGR/932/2026, of September 17, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León no. 186, of September 24, 2026, with official reference BOCYL-D-24092026-186-22. The authorization integrates the conditions for production and waste management, prescriptions regarding soil and groundwater, and the conditions of the environmental impact statement.

The order is signed by Councilor Joaquín Antonio Pino, head of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Environment, and Environmental Policy, the competent body according to the consolidated text of the Environmental Prevention Law of Castilla y León, approved by Legislative Decree 1/2015, of November 12. The file, 156-24-AASA, was initiated on October 7, 2024, with the company’s application, which submitted the project, the environmental impact study, and the baseline soil report.

The project underwent public consultation via an announcement in the Official Gazette of Castilla y León no. 183, of September 23, 2025, and on the notice board of the Guijuelo City Council, with no objections filed. Reports were also gathered from the Waste and Contaminated Soils Service, the Civil Protection and Emergencies Agency, and the Territorial Health Service. The environmental impact statement was formulated by Resolution of July 1, 2026, file EIAO/2024/SA/009, published in BOCYL no. 137, of July 17, 2026.

A plant of 10,600 annual tons across five plots

The facility will be located on five urban plots in Guijuelo —Montecillo Street 8 and 10, and Las Pañuelas Street 2, 4, and 6— totaling 7,813 square meters of plot area and 3,194 square meters of built area. The company’s registered office is at Amable Criado Street 37, in Campillo de Salvatierra, an annex of Guijuelo (37778, Salamanca), with NIF B72839715.

The maximum processing capacity is 10,600 annual tons of residual mixed plastic (PLASMIX) coming from non-recyclable and non-reusable non-hazardous waste streams, primarily industrial and urban. The estimated production is distributed as follows:

• Char: 2,620 tons per year, destined for asphalt and cement fuel.
• Syngas: 3,180 tons per year, for thermal self-consumption combustion.
• Liquid fraction: 4,240 tons per year, as raw material for the chemical industry.
• Total: 10,040 tons per year.

The maximum expected yields of chemical recycling are 40% to liquid, 11% to solid, and 30% to gas. The activity is classified under CNAE 2014 (manufacture of other basic organic chemicals) and IPPC headings of Annex I, sections 4.1.a) and 4.1.b).

Depolymerization and emissions control

The technology is based on depolymerization, a thermochemical process that decomposes matter at high temperatures under anaerobic conditions, without combustion. The multi-reactor system consists of twelve main reactors, three carbonization reactors, and one heating furnace. The activity is divided into two sub-activities: the prior mechanical treatment of the material (3 tons per hour, 250 days per year) and the chemical recycling itself (1.5 tons per hour, 260 days per year).

The facility projects three channeled sources: two associated with the chemical recycling modules and one with the auxiliary domestic hot water boiler. To minimize emissions, it incorporates a multi-stage gas cleaning system with cooling, particle removal, condensation, absorption, adsorption on activated carbon, and thermal oxidation. The liquid fraction will be stored in two 200-cubic-meter tanks.

Regarding water, the process has zero discharge: process water is reintroduced into the cooling system or used for char humidification, while sanitary and clean rainwater go to the municipal network. The establishment is not affected by Royal Decree 840/2015 on major accidents involving dangerous substances, but the Basic Self-Protection Standard does apply.

Conditions, deadlines, and resources

The holder will have a period of five years from the notification to start the activity, which must be previously communicated via a responsible declaration. Before that communication, they must have:

• A certificate from the technical director of the project execution regarding the adequacy of the installation.
• Certification from an accredited environmental control body.
• Accreditation of compliance with the applicable best available techniques.
• Civil liability insurance or an equivalent financial guarantee.
• A self-protection plan registered in the Registry of Self-Protection Plans of Castilla y León.

The installation will be considered a non-hazardous waste manager for operations R0306 and R1203. Against the order, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal may be filed before the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Castilla y León within two months.

The authorization unlocks an industrial facility in southeastern Salamanca aimed at recovering plastics that currently end up in landfills, producing circular raw materials for the chemical and petrochemical industry. For Guijuelo, this means the arrival of a chemical activity subject to permanent environmental control, with obligations to monitor emissions, soil, and water, and a five-year timeline before it becomes operational.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla y León, no. 186, of September 24, 2026, I. Community of Castilla y León, section I.D Other Provisions, page 186 (official reference: BOCYL-D-24092026-186-22).