Valpak has sold its materials recycling facility (MRF) in Preston in a move intended to increase its supply of plastics PRNs in response to rising packaging recycling targets.
The deal with newly formed firm JWS Lancashire gives Valpak access to any packaging recovery notes (PRNs) generated from plastics recovered from the facility.
JWSL is set to bring in around 40,000 tonnes per year of plastic rich material which would otherwise be sent to landfill. The company is run by Robin Tweedale, former Biffa landfill director and head of Salford-based recycling firm JWS.
Mr Tweedale was also managing director of waste logistics firm JWS Churngold when it was sold to waste management firm Viridor in November 2011 for a sum of 14.25 million (see letsrecycle.com story).
The 70,000 tonne-a-year capacity Preston MRF was purchased by Valpaks recycling arm Valpak Recycling North West in 2006, to provide additional services to members of its packaging compliance scheme and to increase the production of PRNs against any increases in packaging recycling targets.
PRNs
With the targets for recycling plastic packaging set to rise by 5% per year from the current level of 42%, reaching 57% by 2017, Valpak believes that the deal will secure a vital supply of PRNs, having forecast that the price of PRNs could rise to as much as 65 a tonne in the coming years (see letsrecycle.com story).
Valpak said it has also put in place agreements with a number of other UK reprocessors to increase its supply of PRNs.
Steve Gough, chief executive of Valpak, said: We have always viewed Preston as a strategic corporate asset to deliver service to customers and members and provide a platform for increasing the number of plastic PRNs available to the market place as the targets rise.
We believe that the packaging targets set by the government out to 2017 are very challenging indeed and will require both increases in participation by consumers and for industry to be able to extract more recycling out of streams currently going to landfill.
Valpak Recycling will continue to use the site to service its national accounts.
Mr Tweedale, said: We have been working very closely with the Valpak staff at the Preston site to ensure that service levels are maintained and to prepare the site for the new material we have secured. We have been impresses with the professionalism of the staff on site and the commitment that Valpak has shown to support the project to help meet the future packaging targets.
We have also secured the smaller premises next to the Preston site to provide extra space for the extra material coming to the site as the first part of the investment.
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