The facility set to be the UK’s first closed-loop plant capable of processing polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays into food-grade packaging.
The Shrewsbury site, located at Battlefield, will take in PET plastics from both trays and bottles – before shredding, washing and flaking the material.
The resulting feedstock will be recycled into food-grade packaging aimed primarily at the UK grocery and food manufacturing sector.
Veolia’s Shrewsbury plastics facility
Veolia first announced the £70 million investment in July 2025.
The project will see a disused industrial facility converted into a high-capacity plastics sorting and recycling plant, with a capacity of 80,000 tonnes annually.
Operations are scheduled to commence in early 2026.
Input material will be sourced from household and commercial collections nationwide, ensuring a steady stream of plastics for reprocessing.
Darren Davis, Sales Manager UK and Ireland at Bollegraaf, said: “The plastic recycling sector is facing many challenges, from low prices for virgin sources to stiff competition for rPET from outside the UK.
“There are strict required standards for food-grade plastics. When producers need to use recycled material, they need a trusted supplier, like Veolia, to provide them with the compliant feedstock. Producers cannot afford to make mistakes in food-grade materials.”
Plastics plant closures continue
The announcement comes against a difficult backdrop for the plastics recycling industry, which has seen several high-profile plant closures in recent months.
Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) warned that the sector is facing “imminent collapse”, pointing to a combination of falling demand, rising costs and regulatory pressures that continue to force facilities out of business.
FEAD have also issued a warning that the European plastics value chain is “at a breaking point.”
Viridor confirmed earlier this summer that it would close its Rochester plastics recycling facility, following on from the shutdown of its Avonmouth site in December 2024.
Biffa also shuttered its Sunderland plastics plant in July 2025, which had been processing up to 39,000 tonnes of HDPE and polypropylene (PP) each year.
Most recently, Vanden Recycling announced that it will be closing its plastics processing site in Whittlesey, Peterborough, in October 2025.
Market conditions have added further strain. Trading activity was subdued throughout August, with seasonal softening in demand for PET exacerbated by an oversupply of material.
Prices for some grades have dipped, while across Europe recyclers are grappling with low virgin polymer prices, which continue to squeeze margins.
View our full market analysis for Plastic Prices in August here.
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