PLASTIC BOTTLE RECYCLING
WRAP loan to increase capacity at Eco Plastics / Boost for non-bottle recycling / Complements previous support for Biffa Polymers
The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP, Banbury / UK; www.wrap.org.uk) has made a GBP 1.15m (EUR 1.5m) loan to Eco Plastics (Hemswell, Lincolnshire / UK; www.ecoplasticsltd.com) to enable it to recycle an additional 15,000 t/y of rigid plastic packaging. The funding will be used to extend Eco Plastics’ existing bottle sorting and processing facility so that it will be capable of recycling a total of 150,000 t/y, of which 40,000 t/y will be food-grade rPET pellet. The investment complements the joint venture between Eco Plastics and Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE, Uxbridge, Middlesex / UK; www.cokecce.co.uk) established last year – see Plasteurope.com of 12.05.2011 – and means the Hemswell facility is better able to process rigid plastic packaging such as tubs, pots and trays as well as bottles. It will also create a further 12 jobs at the site.
WRAP’s financial support for Eco Plastics is part of its programme to ensure plastic bottle recycling is not hindered by the presence of other forms of rigid plastic packaging. It is also a significant step in helping to establish a recycling infrastructure for these other types of packaging. In this respect, the funding made available to Eco Plastics complements the GBP 1.19m (EUR 1.4m) loan WRAP made to Biffa Polymers (Redcar / UK; www.biffa.co.uk) to establish the UK’s first mixed plastics sorting and recycling facility – see Plasteurope.com of 27.01.2011 – which came on stream in March last year (see Plasteurope.com of 25.03.2011).
Commenting on the loan, Eco Plastics' managing director Jonathan Short said it was vital that the plastics recycling infrastructure is in place before further non-bottle collection is undertaken. Even after this investment, he highlighted, current collections far outweigh the available processing capacity. “We support WRAP’s vision to see this growth occur in the medium term,” he added. “It is an essential ingredient for a successful industry.”
Over the next three to five years, WRAP intends to increase the UK’s capacity to recycle rigid plastic packaging by 100,000 t/y. To support this aim, it has established the Mixed Plastics Loan Fund, which is available to any company with an interest in recycling plastic packaging that meets the necessary criteria.
WRAP’s financial support for Eco Plastics is part of its programme to ensure plastic bottle recycling is not hindered by the presence of other forms of rigid plastic packaging. It is also a significant step in helping to establish a recycling infrastructure for these other types of packaging. In this respect, the funding made available to Eco Plastics complements the GBP 1.19m (EUR 1.4m) loan WRAP made to Biffa Polymers (Redcar / UK; www.biffa.co.uk) to establish the UK’s first mixed plastics sorting and recycling facility – see Plasteurope.com of 27.01.2011 – which came on stream in March last year (see Plasteurope.com of 25.03.2011).
Commenting on the loan, Eco Plastics' managing director Jonathan Short said it was vital that the plastics recycling infrastructure is in place before further non-bottle collection is undertaken. Even after this investment, he highlighted, current collections far outweigh the available processing capacity. “We support WRAP’s vision to see this growth occur in the medium term,” he added. “It is an essential ingredient for a successful industry.”
Over the next three to five years, WRAP intends to increase the UK’s capacity to recycle rigid plastic packaging by 100,000 t/y. To support this aim, it has established the Mixed Plastics Loan Fund, which is available to any company with an interest in recycling plastic packaging that meets the necessary criteria.
13.02.2012 Plasteurope.com [221510-0]
Published on 13.02.2012