A European consortium that proposes to use mixed plastic waste to manufacture high value products has built a prototype rig that has manufactured a test barrier panel for use in flood defences. The consortium, named Prime (Plastic Recyclate Impression Moulding Engineering, www.fp7prime.eu), said environmental testing of the panels is underway and further production trials will involve the manufacture of a final prototype flood barrier. The final results of the project, including a life cycle analysis, will be revealed later this year, it added.

Steve Morgan from Recoup (UK; www.recoup.org), working collaboratively with European Plastic Converters (EuPC; Brussels / Belgium; www.plasticsconverters.eu) and Plastic Recyclers Europe (EPR, Brussels; www.plasticsrecyclers.eu), stated: “We have seen some very promising results in the manufacture of the panels, and this clearly demonstrates the increasing potential of using mixed polymer waste to create high-end products that can be used in many industries.”

Prime, which was launched last year, intends to manufacture a wide range of marine and construction products. The consortium comprises 10 partners, including the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency (REA), Brunel University (London / UK; www.brunel.ac.uk), Armines (Paris / France; www.armines.net), UK Materials Technology Research Institute (MaTRI; www.uk-matri.org), Acorn (Glastonbury, Somerset / UK; www.acornprojectmanagement.co.uk), Caro (Royston, Hertfordshire / UK; www.carofds.co.uk) and Mikrolin (Tatabánya / Hungary; www.mikrolin.hu) – see Plasteurope.com of 30.08.2012.