University to research process to use mixed plastic waste

The study is being funded by the Pishiobury Trust, an organisation set up by the packaging waste compliance scheme Wastepack, to support recycling and sustainable waste management.

Mike Beard, of Wastepack, said: “We gave the Pishiobury Trust some money to start out and the companies have shared directors, but the Pishiobury Trust is an independent body and the two are not related.”

He added: “We set up the Pishiobury Trust because we were concerned that small organisations, looking at innovative ways of recycling, were being overlooked by the landfill tax credit scheme.”

The project will analyse the polymer composition of the waste stream and will look at the best way to make a pallet from mixed plastic. It should lead to the establishment of a reprocessing plant, which would be able to recycle 25,000 tonnes of mixed plastic waste per annum. Quarrtik already has planning permission to build a plant in Berkshire and intends to manufacture one million pallets a year for the retail sector.

David Burton, of the Pishiobury Trust, said the research will try to overcome the difficulties of recycling plastic and the costs associated with separating it. “Quarrtik will be addressing some of the problems that exist in the recycled plastics market. The research will look at mixed plastic usage to see what opportunities there are. It will avoid separation costs and will make in-roads into plastic recycling as 25,000 tonnes of mixed plastic should be diverted a year.”

Mr Burton added that Wastepack would not be supplying bottles for the trial. “Quarrtik will be sourcing its own plastic bottles and when the trial is completed, it will tender for the contract like everybody else.”

The research is being carried out in conjunction with Cardiff University who will produce a range of sample pallets made from different combinations of plastic. A final mould, which will be used for manufacture, should be completed within 12 months. The pallets themselves will be recyclable.

The project has received funds through the landfill tax credit scheme from Viridor Waste Management. Mike Hellings, managing director of Viridor, said: “We are delighted to support this innovative development which seeks to find practical solutions to mixed plastic recycling.”