New glass recycling plant set for Cheshire

The plant at Ellesmere Port will be the third site operated by the Kirkby-in-Ashfield-based company able to automatically separate mixed glass into separate colours.

Recresco, previously known as Midland Glass, already operates separation plants at its Kirkby headquarters and at a site in Southampton with a capacity of about 125,000 tonnes per annum.

One of Recresco's existing colour separation machines at its Kirkby-in-Ashfield site

The new plant will deal with around 40 tonnes per hour, separating all glass at the same time rather than one colour at a time, the current norm in the UK.

Four colour sorters have been ordered from American company MSS at a cost of around 1 million, with the first delivery expected soon. Recresco hopes to see the plant up and running in the next three to four months.

Tim Gent, Recresco director, told letsrecycle.com that the plant would deal specifically with mixed glass – ensuring that more clear and brown cullet remained in the UK rather than being exported within mixed glass.

He said: “It is annoying to see clear and brown glass go abroad, with this plant we will be able to get the value out before exporting what the UK doesn't want.”

Demand
Recresco's new Ellesmere Port plant is being established at a time when demand for recycled brown and clear glass is on the increase, thanks to tough packaging recovery targets, rising fuel prices and fresh competition within the UK glass container industry.

Irish firm Quinn Glass has established a new container plant at nearby Ince, and is thought to be considering developing a wine importing-and-bottling operation that would also expand the market for recycled green glass.

Recresco already has an export facility on the Liverpool Docks, which sends mixed glass to Spain and Portugal. The Liverpool plant will close once the new Ellesmere Port facility is up and running.

The company also sees its Ellesmere Port operation as being advantageously situated with regard to possible local authority glass collection contracts in the North West.