ECO Plastics’ facility at Hemswell reprocesses 35% of the bottles collected in the UK every year. Some 35% of the company’s feedstock is now supplied through longer partnerships, and ECO Plastics is seeking to increase this to 70% by the end of the year.
The additional surety provided by such agreements allows companies like ECO Plastics to invest in the creation of new technology, further developing the UK’s waste infrastructure.
Jonathan Short, deputy chairman of ECO Plastics, said: “Buying material on the spot market can at times deliver robust prices, but it provides very little certainty over future revenue levels. Crucially, that makes it difficult to raise the finance necessary to invest in new technology, which in turn means that there are still valuable resources that can’t currently be recycled domestically.
“As it becomes more and more difficult to export our waste material overseas, we’re left with a choice between building new infrastructure and going back to landfill. We see an industry wide move to longer agreements as fundamental to resolving that dilemma.”
The part of the Hemswell facility that focuses on converting the sorted and cleaned plastics to rPET resin is a joint venture between Coca-Cola Enterprises and ECO Plastics. CCE has the aspiration to increase the proportion of rPET in its bottles to 25% and felt that without intervening in the market, there would be insufficient material to do so.
Nick Brown, associate director for recycling, Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: “We are delighted to see the way our partnership with ECO Plastics is transforming recycling in Great Britain. Collaboration unlocks great potential to optimise operations and this deal with Viridor is great news for all parties involved. It shows how leaders in the waste management industry are evolving to grasp the opportunities offered in a more circular economy, and will act as reassurance to householders and local authorities that the domestic recycling industry is thriving.”
Independent research has found that ECO Plastics’ process is 68% less carbon intensive than using virgin plastics for packaging. The Hemswell facility is capable of processing 150,000 tonnes of mixed plastics a year, including 40,000 tonnes of bottle-grade rPET pellet. It produces 11 different streams of plastic and virtually no waste is left over due to the quality of its cleaning technology.
In early 2009, ECO Plastics became the first UK company to receive food grade accreditation for its rPET resin.
Source: Viridor Resource Management
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