Recycling specialist Viridor (Taunton, Somerset / UK; www.viridor.co.uk) has opened a GBP 12.5m (EUR 15.7m) plastics recycling facility in Rochester, Kent / UK. Constructed in conjunction with Stadler UK (Bristol; www.w-stadler.de), the facility can process 75,000 t/y of mixed plastics into segregated plastic grades for reprocessing into secondary raw materials for use in the production of a variety of packaging and other products.

The plant can separate up to 10,000 t/y of glass from combined input streams and can recover mixed plastics as well as commingled glass and cans through its sorting technology.

Ian McAulay, Viridor CEO, said: “I’m pleased to see our latest investment already providing an improved recycling service for customers in Kent and beyond. Transforming what others see as waste into quality resources that can be used within manufacturing is a key requirement to greater resource efficiency in the UK. That is good for UK business and for the environment.”

The Rochester facility utilises 121 conveyor belts to move the streams of waste throughout the building. Metals are removed using seven overband magnets and five eddy current separators whilst five picking cabins ensure the manual separation of unwanted items such as paper and film. Following ballistic separation, a series of 16 optical sorting machines from Titech (Mühlheim-Kärlich / Germany; www.titech.com) isolate the required mixture of plastic grades for baling.

Viridor operates more than 320 facilities across the UK. In 2009, the company bought Intercontinetal Recycling, raising its plastics recycling activities in western UIK - for details, see Plasteurope.com of 11.08.2009.