Lincolnshire based plastic bottle recycler ECO Plastics cut the ribbon on an extension to its Hemswell bottle recycling facility yesterday (May 10), making it the largest facility of its kind in the world.
Coca Cola Enterprises has invested significantly in the plant as part of its pledge to use 25% recycled PET plastic in all its plastic bottles produced in the UK, with the two firms forming the joint venture Continuum Recycling Ltd.
A total of 15 million has been spent to upgrade the plant, following an additional 1.15 million loan from the Waste and Resources Action Programmes (WRAP) Mixed Plastics Loan Fund, granted in February 2012 to expand the plants sorting capacity (see letsrecycle.com story).
Investment
As a result of the investment, the plants recycled PET production capacity has increased from 15,000 to 40,000 tonnes per year, which the company says will more than double the UKs overall bottle-grade rPET production capability. The expansion has also created an additional 30 jobs, bringing the total number of staff employed at the Hemswell facility to 180.
Recycling Minister Lord Taylor formally opened the plant yesterday, and heralded the exciting partnership between the two firms.
Speaking at the launch, he said: This 15 million facility will more than double the capacity for producing food grade plastics in this country. It is an innovative partnership and it represents a first for the British drinks manufacturing industry. It is an exciting kind of partnership and one that the government wants to see more of.
With the opening of this facility, the UK is now home to the worlds largest plastics recycling plant, bringing jobs and growth to the rural economy of Lincolnshire.
Manufacturing
Recycled plastic flake produced at the Hemswell bottle recycling plant will then be used at Coca Colas bottle manufacturing plants in Wakefield, Milton Keynes and Edmonton.
Plastic from recycled bottles can then be back on the shelf within six weeks of being thrown away.
The extension to the plant sees the facilitys extrusion capacity increase from around 15,000 tonnes to around 60,000 tonnes per year. Additional wash line capacity has also been added at the facility, rising from 30,000 to 70,000 tonnes per year.
With capacity to sort around 150,000 tonnes of plastic bottles per year, ECO Plastics claim that the Hemswell plant is the largest plastic bottle recycling facility anywhere in the world.
The company says it is currently processing around 10,000 tonnes of plastic bottles per month, but expects the plant to be running at full capacity by the end of 2012.
Jonathan Short, Managing Director of ECO Plastics, said: Today is a great day for ECO Plastics and a great day for UK recycling generally. It demonstrates the huge potential of working with global leaders like Coca-Cola Enterprises, as well as the strategic value of long-term partnerships. Together they have provided us with confidence to invest in the next-generation technology which will be crucial to our industrys future development.
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