News

Plastic packaging recycling in the UK has been boosted by the £14m expansion of AWS Eco Plastics' Lincolnshire reprocessing facility.

The upgraded Hemswell plant can reprocess 100,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year, which it will be able to turn it into food-grade material next year when a new line will be installed.

AWS chief executive Jonathan Short said the volumes of waste plastics and lack of competitor made food-grade plastics a "huge opportunity" for the Newcastle-based firm.

"Until very recently, no-one in the UK has been able to produce recycled plastic that was clean enough and odour-free to be turned into food or drink packaging.

"Our new plant's quadrupled capacity can take plastic waste from local councils, supermarkets and other users of plastic and recycle it into flakes of the highest quality."

Short added that the firm hoped to open more UK capacity within the next two years, although remained undecided about whether that would be via expanding the existing plant or opening a new one.

He said the firm was also considering opening in continental Europe or perhaps in Asia. "The business of recycling would lend itself well to a growing affluent country like China."

The Hemswell plant can handle two billion plastic bottles a year, and also segregate a range of plastics collected from local authorities and waste management firms.

The bottles are de-labelled, granulated and washed and can then be used in new plastic products such as pipes and packaging.

The plant's expansion has been supported by a £6m investment from the Sustainable Technology Fund.