Resources and waste firm Viridor has signed a two-year contract for the processing of 5,000 tonnes per year of recycling sacks, shopping bags and plastic films per year from its MRFs.
The material, which will come from its Crayford, Milton Keynes, Masons and Plymouth MRFs will be sent to the Gloucestershire LDPE film reprocessor KS Plastics. The material would previously have been sent for processing at sites in the Far East or Turkey, Viridor said.
Kai Ma, managing director of KS Plastics (right), with Rosie Barber, Viridor Resource Management trading and feedstock manager – plastics.
KS Plastics operates a wash plant and reprocessing facility at a site on the Stowfield Business Park around 20 miles from Gloucester, producing flake and pellet at the site.
KS Plastics, which was set up in 2017, and has invested around £1.5 million in the facility, including two washing lines with an annual overall capacity of 24,000 tonnes. End products from the site can predominantly be used as a feedstock in insulation, KS Plastics says.
Market
Commenting on its arrangement with the company, Viridor Resource Management managing director Keith Trower, said: “VRM is actively seeking opportunities to agree end-of-waste contracts with reprocessors here in the UK where this demand and capacity exists.
“The resource market remains a global market, governed by the basic principles of supply and demand, but we recognise public sentiment that the UK should find a way to deal with its own waste. This was the view of four in five people polled in Viridor’s 2018 Recycling Index and this is reflected in our focus on companies which are investing in the UK and Europe to meet the capacity gap in UK waste production and our reprocessing of certain grades of polymer.”
He added: “These partnerships offer real opportunities for UK companies to come together to advance recycling and circular economy ambitions, giving the public added confidence that their efforts at home can see materials go on to live another life, moving away from a disposable society.”
Capacity
“These partnerships offer real opportunities for UK companies to come together to advance recycling and circular economy ambitions, giving the public added confidence that their efforts at home can see materials go on to live another life, moving away from a disposable society.”
Keith Trower
Viridor
Kai Ma, managing director of KS Plastics, said: “Our focus is on adding much-needed plastic processing capacity to the UK. We have chosen to target the lower end of the value chain to create something unique to the market. This is a three-polymer pellet which allows for low grade films to be processed quickly. We believe this may be unique in the UK, with other processors hand sorting to process one type of polymer.”
Ms Ma added: “Our product, both flake and pellet, can be used in a number of applications to give this material new life but, at present, it is predominantly in demand in the insulation market.
“We are happy to be working with Viridor to offer a secure and viable UK recycling route for this material. Such partnerships are imperative to encourage investment in the UK.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Plastic
