Axjo's contribution to the Swedish environmental protection agency’s Snowball Project

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) is the national government agency responsible for environmental issues in Sweden. Operating on behalf of the Swedish government, the agency works on environmental matters nationally, within the EU, and internationally. Its efforts are guided by Sweden’s environmental quality objectives.

As part of its broader mission, Naturvårdsverket leads the Snowball Project under the National Plastics Coordination initiative. The project aims to inspire sustainable change by highlighting and sharing successful, realworld examples of circular plastic use. These “snowballs” as the agency calls them , are designed to grow through collaboration, creating momentum that encourages others to follow.

To support this, Naturvårdsverket invites companies and organizations to contribute their own examples of circular solutions. At Axjo, we’re proud to be part of this initiative for sustainable plastic use.

We have several strong examples where we have implemented circular and sustainable practices, two of which we are excited to share below.

Our work at Axjo Europe: Giving XLPE waste new life

At Axjo Europe AB, we’ve worked together with leading manufacturers and research institutes to develop a method for recycling production waste from power cables that use cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE). XLPE has excellent properties thanks to its crosslinking, but it has traditionally been very difficult to recycle.

Through a highly efficient recycling process and a sophisticated blending and compounding method at our facility in Sweden, we’ve succeeded in integrating significant amounts of recycled XLPE into new products.

These materials now serve as impact modifiers and have been on the market for several years, receiving great feedback from both cable manufacturers and end users. For us, this is a clear example of how innovation and sustainability can go hand in hand.

Read more about our XLPE work by clicking here.

Axjo Recycling: Building a circular system for plastic packaging

At Axjo Recycling AB, we’ve developed a reuse system for plastic packaging, particularly cable drums and transport carriers used in the construction, wholesale, and logistics industries. Our goal is to ensure that each packaging unit goes through multiple use cycles before being recycled.

We exclusively use post consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, sourced from household waste, in our products. To streamline the system, we’ve also introduced a new standard for plastic drums, reducing the number of variants on the market and increasing return rates. To support this, we’ve built a digital solution with a dedicated app that makes tracking and managing returns more efficient.

Right now, we’re exploring the possibility of expanding this system to include wooden packaging, with a focus on repair and reuse, another step toward a more circular and sustainable supply chain.

Read more about our return services by clicking here.

These are our two contributions to the Snowball Project, and we’re proud to be part of an initiative that turns good ideas into growing, rolling change. You can find more information about the project on Naturvårdsverket’s website by clicking here.