Lancashire plant could fill domestic PET recyclate vacuum

Intercontinental's initial PET output will be aimed at the sheet and non-food bottle market, said general manager Lee Clayton. But the subsequent addition of an extruder to allow food-grade PET pellet production is highly likely, alongside continued production of PCR flake for a range of feedstock options.

"It's a matter of establishing ourselves in markets for flake, which we know we have," said Clayton. "The natural progression is then to go to food-grade."

Demand for food-grade PET is on the increase, and both Innocent and Ribena are having to source material from Europe in their move to 100% recycled PET bottles.

The Intercontinental plant, the result of a "multi million-pound investment", will start production months before the Closed Loop London PET recycling facility in Dagenham, east London, which is likely to begin operations in March or April 2008.

Clayton said: "Our aim must be to work with suppliers to increase the yield from bottle collections. But we can accept a range of qualities, and if feedstock from a local authority supplier temporarily falls below normal levels of contamination, we can still handle it."

Clayton and commercial manager Stuart Kershaw said the firm would like to source much of its mixed plastics bottle waste from the Merseyside-Greater Manchester corridor, but supply is likely to come from all parts of the UK.

Popular Articles