Europe's Most Advanced Recycling Facility Opens in Lincolnshire

HAVING been gutted by fire over 15 months ago, recycling firm AWS Eco Plastics, has reopened after undergoing a £13 million refit that will see it lead the way in the supply of recycled plastics. The Newcastle-based company now has the capacity to sort a staggering 100,000 tonnes of mixed-plastic bottles each year and already has plans for a further £15 million expansion.

Speaking at the opening of the new facility, Peter Gangsted, Chairman of AWS, highlighted the role the facility would play in spearheading the burgeoning UK market for food-grade plastics recycling. He commented: "The plant we reopen today is the largest and most advanced mixed plastic sorting facility in Europe and perhaps the world. We believe it is the most efficient and effective sorting facility and also the most accurate."

AWS, which has been in the industry for over 10 years, produces a food-grade recycled PET (rPET) pellet. This can then be used in the creation of food contact packaging. In July this year, the company published the results of a study from Carbonify, which indicate that the carbon cost of producing AWS’ food grade rPET pellet equates to a saving of 63 per cent compared with the production of virgin material.

Jonathan Short, Managing Director of AWS, added: "Today is just the first step for AWS Ecoplastics. There is huge potential in the UK market and this can only grow as the demand for low-carbon food and drink packaging increases. This is a growth industry in which the UK has the potential to be a world-leader, a prime example of the government's low-carbon economy."

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