Ecoservice, the largest environmental management company in Lithuania and part of the Eco Baltia Group, has officially opened the most advanced and largest separately collected packaging sorting centre in the Baltic region. With an investment of around EUR 18 million, the new facility features cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions that can identify and sort 13 types of packaging, nearly doubling operational efficiency.

"This new centre embodies our commitment to waste management. We are not just sorting waste – we are building infrastructure to help Lithuania embrace the circular economy and create a more sustainable future for all. Our goal for the coming years is to increase the company's efficiency and thereby contribute to its faster development in the Baltic market," said Jurgita Nacevičienė, CEO of Ecoservice.

Luminor Bank provided EUR 12.6 million in financing for the implementation of this project. The rest is financed from the Eco Baltia Group's own resources.

“This project is vital for enhancing Lithuania’s circular economy infrastructure, reducing waste and promoting recourse efficiency. By enabling the development of such technologically advanced facilities, we are actively participating in building more sustainable future for our communities”, said Vytis Žegužauskas, Head of Corporate banking at Luminor.

Development and new plant

Completed in just 18 months, the new sorting centre marks the largest investment in Ecoservice's 30-year history. It was rebuilt on the site of the previous facility, which was destroyed by fire in 2023. The new plant is designed to process up to 12 tons of waste per hour and 300 tons per day, increasing operational efficiency by 1.5 times and significantly improving the quality of recyclable materials.

The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including nine AI-driven optical separators capable of identifying and sorting different materials with 85% accuracy, as well as four high-powered magnets for efficient metal detection. These enhancements are expected to increase the recovery of recyclable materials by 15–20% compared to the previous facility. To ensure safety, the centre now features the only certified thermal imaging fire detection system in the Baltics, exceeding current fire safety standards.

"This is the third Eco Baltia Group facility to open in the Baltics within just five months. Despite the challenges posed by the insurer Latvian branch of Compensa Vienna Insurance Group and its prolonged delays in fulfilling contractual obligations, we have achieved our business objectives. This success demonstrates Eco Baltia's stability and ability to grow even in challenging circumstances. The new facility will enable us to make a significant contribution to the circular economy across Europe," says Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Management Board of Eco Baltia.

Ecoservice tackles insurer Compensa's defaults

Company reminds that on 5th August in 2023, a devastating fire broke out in the waste sorting plant in Vilnius. It caused extensive damage, destroying the building, waste sorting equipment, part of the inventory and partially shutting down the plant. Despite this catastrophic event, the Latvian branch of Compensa Vienna Insurance Group (part of Vienna Insurance Group), the company‘s insurer, has unacceptably delayed any decision on compensation for over a year and the half.

„Hiding behind endless bureaucracy, excessive document demands, and redundant expert reviews, Compensa has effectively abandoned its obligations. This has forced us to finance the entire reconstruction from our own resources and external funding. This is totally unacceptable and hampers not only the development of the company and the industry, but also the implementation of national waste reduction standards. We are grateful to Eco Baltia Group and Luminor Bank for supporting this crucial project, enabling us to resume operations altogether,“ said Nacevičiene.

Determined to hold Compensa accountable, Ecoservice filed a lawsuit with a total claim of €13.6 million. Ecoservice remains resolute in demanding full compensation and will pursue all legal avenues necessary to expose this disgraceful negligence.

About Eco Baltia:

Eco Baltia is the largest environmental resource management Group in the Baltics by turnover, providing the full waste management cycle from waste collection and sorting to logistics, wholesale and recycling of secondary raw materials.

Eco Baltia closed 2023 with a record consolidated turnover of EUR 218.4 million, an increase of 4% compared to 2022. Eco Baltia's total consolidated revenue (pro forma) in 2023 amounted to EUR 242.5 million.

The Group employs more than 2,600 people in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Its leading companies are ITERUM AS (until June 6, 2024 - PET Baltija), Eco Baltia vide SIA, Latvijas Zaļais punkts SIA, Nordic Plast SIA, JUMIS SIA in Sigulda, TESIL Fibres in the Czech Republic, UAB Ecoservice in Lithuania and, from November 2023, Metal Plast in Poland, and from October 2024 "Oil Recovery" (before "Eko Osta") in Latvia.

The shareholders of Eco Baltia are the private equity fund INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund (52.81% through UAB BSGF Salvus), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (30.51%) and Māris Simanovičs (15.93% through SIA Enrial Holdings and 0.75% through Penvi Investment Ltd).

About Ecoservice:

Ecoservice is a Lithuanian environmental management company, part of Eco Baltia Group, providing services such as collection, management and sorting of municipal, packaging, green, construction, demolition and bulky waste, as well as pavement, urban and road maintenance services. Ecoservice provides services to over 1.2 million residents across Lithuania and supplies 3,500 tons of secondary raw materials for recycling every month.

The turnover of the group in 2023 was almost EUR 65 million. The company is 100% owned by Eco Baltia vide, part of the environmental and waste management group Eco Baltia AS.