Biffa has revealed that it plans to increase its HDPE recycling capacity by 50% at its Biffa Polymers plant in Washington.
It will make an additional £13 million investment in Washington to enable it to recycle more HDPE bottles.
In a trading update ahead of revealing its annual results in May, Biffa said: “Over the last decade Biffa has pioneered closed loop recycling technology for HDPE post-consumer milk bottles through its operations at Redcar with 85% of milk bottles in the UK now containing Biffa material.
“This additional investment at Washington will increase the Group’s HDPE milk bottle recycling capacity by a further 50% to 39,000 tonnes of input per annum (equivalent to 1.6 billion bottles a year), and will grow Biffa Polymers’ business to an annual capacity of 155,000 tonnes and revenue of c.£85 million.
“Predominantly, the output from this facility will be used in the manufacture of new HDPE milk bottles in the UK. The investment will create a further 50 jobs and is expected to come on-line during H2 FY22.”
Biffa also said that it “continues to consolidate its leadership position in food grade, closed loop plastic recycling”.
It added: “Phase two of the Seaham rPET plant and the previously announced projects at
Washington and Aldridge are progressing to plan, and the Group expects all three to come online
in the early part of FY22. Agreements for the sale of the output of the Seaham facility on derisked commercial terms are in the final stages of negotiation with a select number of long-term strategic partners.
“The Group has recently agreed an agreement with Alpla UK Ltd, a longstanding partner alongside the previously announced partnership with Nestlé UK.”
Biffa said in its update that it expects profits for the 2020-2021 financial year to be in line with the board’s previous expectations in the range of £42 to £44 million.
