AWS gains backing for 14m expansion

It currently produces around 2,000 tonnes of food-grade material each month.

The £14m expansion has been supported by a £1.5m injection from the Sustainable Technology Fund managed by E-Synergy, £400,000 from NorthStar Equity Investors and £100,000 from a private investor.

AWS managing director Jonathan Short said the high levels of interest in recycled plastics were due to strong "commercial drivers" for companies to start using recycled plastics.

"Retailers are under a lot of pressure, from consumers and the government, to reduce the plastic packaging they use, and that impacts on fillers and then bottle manufacturers," he said.

Short said AWS was signing contracts with waste collection companies to ensure the supply of post-consumer plastics suitable for reprocessing.

E-Synergy chief executive Andrew Stevenson, who has joined the AWS board, said AWS had a "huge opportunity" to capitalise on a "fast growing industry".

"Currently, only a small percentage of plastics consumed in drinks bottles is recycled back into bottles," he said.

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