AWS gets 2m boost for food grade packaging

Investment company E-Synergy has provided £1.5 million from its Sustainable Technology Fund to the plastics recycling firm, as well as securing £400,000 from another investment specialist, NorthStar Equity Investors, and £100,000 from a private investor.

The funds will contribute towards a £14m expansion of the firm's plant in Hemswell, Lincolnshire, which will include a hot wash and extrusion line.

Food grade

This will enable waste plastics, such as HDPE milk bottles and PET water bottles, to be recycled back into bottles and film suitable for use in food grade packaging.

AWS managing director Jonathan Short said: “This announcement shows AWS is set to be a serious contender in the food grade market and we look forward to finalising some significant off take contracts within the coming weeks.”

The company aims to be producing food grade pellets for sale by the fourth quarter of this year and has just ordered £8m worth of equipment.

AWS, which has its headquarters in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, will produce pellets with a recycled content of 100%.

Sorting

The £14m project also includes the installation of two additional sorting lines, both with an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes.

It will use the existing sorting line – which has a 25,000 tonne capacity – to sort residue material such as PVC and polystyrene, rejected from the initial sorting process.

Investment in technology means the company will be able to eliminate the amount of manual pickers it employs although employment levels will still remain at the same level as now.

The company presently takes mixed plastics from waste management companies including SITA UK, Recoup and Northern Ireland's social enterprise firm Bryson House Recycling.

When the food grade packaging equipment is in place, around 65% of the feedstock will be used in this process.

The remaining material will be used in existing applications, with much of it flaked and exported to the Far East. PET is used to make fibres and HDPE is used in post-industrial applications such as pipe manufacture.

The investment from E-Synergy will see the company's chief executive Andrew Stevenson joining the board of AWS as an investor director.

He said: “AWS has a huge opportunity to capitalise on its unique market knowledge, operational experience and contacts and to lead the UK market in food grade recycled plastics – a fast-growing industry.

“Currently much of the UK's recycled plastic output is transported to China, some of which is remade as consumer goods and shipped back overseas again. There is growing demand in the UK for food-grade recycled plastic which has been recovered from the UK waste stream.”