Sims acquires Widnes recycling centre

Recycling company Sims Metal Management has acquired a waste sorting centre in Widnes as part of a deal agreed with logistics firm Wincanton.

Sims, which has a scrap metal yard located in Stalybridge in Greater Manchester, purchased Wincanton's recycling assets for £17.5m.

The deal means Sims will have an estimated 175,000 tonnes a year of additional reprocessing capacity for waste electrical and electronic equipment.

Industry insiders believe the deal could give Sims the largest reprocessing capacity in the UK by adding to its existing operations in the WEEE sector. Sims also runs a recycling facility in Ellesmere Port.

A rivalry to Sims is Viridor, which operates a waste electrical and electronic equipment facility in St Helens, Merseyside.

Last month, Viridor was refused planning permission to build a mechanical and biological treatment plant at Lostock on Griffiths Road in Northwich.

The proposals were part of the company's bid for a 25-year private finance initiative waste contract with Cheshire West & Chester and Cheshire East Councils worth £847m.