Closed Loop Recycling has started building a new £12M plastic bottle recycling plant at Deeside in north Wales.
This is the second such venture for the company. Its first plant for recycling two types of plastic bottles back into useful food and drink packaging was opened in east London last year and processes around 35,000t of plastic bottles annually.
Once complete, the facility will use advanced technology to process over 50,000t of plastic every year, including water, milk and other soft drink bottles, which would otherwise end up in landfill sites or be exported. Due to open at the end of 2009, the facility will create 50 jobs.
The latest project is backed by private equity investment from the Foresight Group and from the Welsh Assembly Government’s new Single Investment Fund.
Closed Loop Recycling’s md Chris Dow said: “This plant will allow us to make a real impact on plastic recycling in north Wales and north west England, as well as on the local economy. Despite the current industry downturn, we have already sold 65% of the plant’s output nine months ahead of time, which is clear evidence that there is a strong market among packaging manufacturers for good quality recycled plastic.”
Companies such as Solo Cup Europe, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Nampak and Logoplaste have committed to buying recycled plastic from the new plant.
According to a study carried out in 2007, the total number of plastic bottles entering the UK waste stream was approximately 525,000t a year - equivalent to around 13bn bottles, claimed Closed Loop Recycling. The study found that some 4.5bn bottles were being recycled, with an estimated 8bn being exported or sent to landfill sites.