UK’s first nappy recycling plant to open in summer
10 June 2011
The first plant in the UK to recycle nappies, feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products is set to open in West Bromwich this summer.
The 36,000 tonne-a-year capacity plant is being developed in the West Midlands by Canadian nappy recycling specialist Knowaste and will be targeting the one million tonnes of absorbent hygiene waste which arises in the UK each year.
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- Knowaste’s West Bromwich plant is currently undergoing commissioning
Roy Brown, Knowaste chief executive, made the revelation at a Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport forum event on the future of UK waste policy yesterday (June 9).
He said: “We will be opening our first plant in West Bromwich this summer. It’s a 36,000tpa plant. We are hoping to announce at the RWM show later this year plans for additional plants in the UK.”
Absorbent hygiene products (AHP) consist of several materials – fibres to absorb moisture, polymers to retain moisture and plastic membranes and tabs. At present, these are sent to landfill or incineration in the UK.
However, at the West Bromwich plant, Knowaste will treat the material using an autoclave which will sterilise it, using high pressure and steam. The waste will then be shredded and materials separated while the plastics continue to granulation and washing processes.
According to Knowaste, the fibres will used as a fuel or sterilised again and recycled for use into corrugated board, blow moulded packaging, seeding mulch or road filler. Meanwhile the plastics will be used to make products such as roof tiles, seed trays and wood substitute products for the landscaping and construction industries.
Commercial sector
Initially, Mr Brown said the plant would process material from the commercial sector including products from washrooms, elderly care homes, child nurseries and hospitals, for which the company already has supply agreements in place.
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- Roy Brown has been chief executive of Knowaste since 1998
But, he said that going forward Knowaste was looking to secure material from the municipal sector – where the vast majority – an estimated 750,000 tonnes a year – of AHP waste arisings.
Mr Brown pointed to that fact that nappies account for around 5% of domestic waste and therefore said there were big opportunities to recycle them.
However, he said that the inflexibility of many long-term council contracts had prevented some councils he had spoken to from looking at nappy recycling seriously.
“A key request to government we have is to ensure that those long term contracts for 25 years are not stumbling blocks,” he said. “We would like to see those contracts for collection and disposal structured with some flexibility”.
He added that strong policy measures in Scotland had made many councils there more open to the possibility of recycling AHP waste, and that such strong leadership was also needed in England.
Mr Brown said: “We need to instil that urgency into these policies and that sense of clarity. We know these [local authority] budget cuts are huge but it is really causing confusion about priorities – it is important to encourage the green economy.”
Mr Brown added that the West Bromwich facility would be “the cornerstone” of a £20 million UK investment programme and the first of a number of plants that Knowaste aim to open across the UK in the coming years.
Knowaste’s first UK plant was originally due to open in 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story ) but was delayed while the company secured private investment.
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