A £15 million investment is being made by Eurokey Recycling to set up a sorting line for films and flexible plastics collected at the back of supermarkets.
The new 75,000 square foot facility, in Kettering, Northamptonshire, will be capable of processing over 70,000 tonnes per year of supermarket films and flexible plastics that are returned by customers.
It will take back of store film and rigid plastics, but also multi-polymers from bakery, confectionery products, bags from prepared salads and food trays.
This means its customers, which include Tesco and Sainsbury’s, will be able to recycle these plastics in the UK.
Eurokey managing director John Dhillon said: “This ground-breaking UK solution has been in development for the past three years, which has now been expedited now that we are part of the Reconomy Group.
“It will undoubtedly have a huge influential role in enabling the UK to better manage its plastic waste, realising both its commercial and environmental value and reducing our reliance on export. We see this as only the start though and have a number of other exciting projects in the pipeline to further bolster UK recycling infrastructure.”
The facility will contain a high degree of automation and will process polymers including PET, HDPE and LDPE.
Eurokey also recently invested over £5 million in a new facility in Goleniow, Poland.
Reconomy chief executive Paul Cox added: “This investment forms a vital part of the Reconomy Group’s exciting growth strategy and demonstrates our commitment to being a leading enabler in the development of the circular economy.
“Building infrastructure to recover more of these under-recycled resources is another example of us working to meet the challenges faced by our customers. In doing so, we are helping them to build more commercially and environmentally sustainable businesses for the future.”
