The facility will take PET – the main material used for food and drinks packaging such as plastic bottles and certain food packaging – and convert it into the raw material for new food-grade packaging, without any waste.
The facility will see an investment of around £20 million into the local economy and create 50 new, permanent jobs.
Enviroo will use technology partners Erema and Sorema Technologies to sort and wash the waste, to create flakes which will then form r-PET (recycled -PET) pellets that can be used by packaging manufacturers to create new products. This technology is able to re-use 100% of the PET it takes in.
The facility is the next plot proposed for the Plastic Park at Protos, following consent of a plastic to hydrogen facility earlier this year. The Plastic Park will cluster together plastic recycling and recovery technologies to create value from plastic waste, helping to avoid it ending up in landfill, exported overseas or in our oceans.
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From April 2022, new law will see any packaging that contains less than 30% recycled PET taxed. Some manufacturers have gone further, pledging to include up to 50% recycled material in their packaging under the UK Plastics Pact. The facility will help to meet growing UK demand for recycled PET.
Ahmed Detta, CEO & Founder of Enviroo, said: "The UK produces over 13 billion plastic bottles a year but currently only recycles around 50% of them. This facility will take these bottles and create a new material that can be used to create new food grade packaging products, reducing the need for virgin plastic and diverting waste from landfill. In the future, we are also planning to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme in nearby locations such as shopping centres and universities, where people can return their empty plastic bottles and possibly other products and receive cash rewards which they can spend as they please or donate a to charitable cause that is close to their hearts.
"We are really keen to hear from the local community about our plans for this recycling facility. Enviroo wants to make sure people know what we are proposing and can share their feedback. While we would normally do this in person, due to COVID-19 restrictions we are having a virtual consultation instead. We have made sure there are many different ways to get in touch so we can answer any questions people have."
