Located in County Antrim, the plant is currently under development, with final commissioning scheduled for spring 2026.
The project involves extensive earthworks alongside the construction of a purpose-built facility to house advanced processing equipment.
Once operational, the site is expected to significantly enhance regional capacity for CD&I waste recovery and treatment.
The facility has been designed, manufactured and installed by Kiverco, with optical sorting technology supplied by Pellenc ST.
At the core of the installation are six Mistral+ CONNECT Full Package optical sorters, which are designed to maximise the recovery of materials including rigid plastics, flexible plastics, brown cardboard and wood from mixed waste streams.
The system has been developed with flexibility in mind, allowing capacity to increase in line with demand.
The sorting units feature a “Future-Proof” architecture, enabling upgrades to sensors and technologies through software updates.
McKinstry also plans to integrate CNS BRAIN™, an artificial intelligence-based module aimed at improving fibre sorting performance and enabling accurate separation of wood into A- and B-grade fractions.
According to JP Devlin, sales manager at Kiverco, the installation incorporates in-house digital technologies for performance monitoring and automated maintenance alerts, helping operators optimise uptime and efficiency.
In addition, the system is connected to SMART&SHARE, providing real-time operational data and allowing for ongoing adjustment of sorting parameters.
The development reflects growing investment in advanced CD&I waste processing infrastructure across the UK and Ireland.
Increasing regulatory pressure, alongside demand for higher recycling rates and improved material recovery, has driven the adoption of technologies such as optical sorting and AI-based systems.
Facilities of this scale are seen as key to supporting the transition towards a more circular economy, where greater volumes of material can be recovered and reused rather than sent to landfill.
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