Protos plastics project moves forward
Enviroo has submitted a planning application for its proposed plastic recycling facility at Peel L&P Environmental’s 133-acre energy hub near Ellesmere Port.
Specialist environmental firm Enviroo claims the facility will be able to reuse 100% of the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material it takes in, helping to recycle some of the 4.9m tonnes of plastic waste created in the UK annually. The company outlined its proposals in October.
A consultation has been carried out with local residents and businesses ahead of the application being lodged with Cheshire West & Chester Council.
The facility is the next plot proposed for the UK Plastic Park being developed by Peel Environmental, part of developer Peel L&P. Earlier this year, the council approved a £7m facility to produce hydrogen from non-recyclable plastics, which is to be developed in partnership with energy provider Waste2Tricity on a 2.5-acre site at the Protos site.
Peel L&P Environmental’s wider Plastic Park initiative aims to develop up to six plastic recycling facilities across the country to reduce levels of plastic waste generated in the UK each year.
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. It will see an investment of around £20m into the local economy and create 50 permanent jobs.
Enviroo said it will use proven technology to sort and wash the waste, before creating r-PET (recycled -PET) pellets that can be used by packaging manufacturers to create new packaging products.
The company said that this will become increasingly important from April 2022, from when a new tax will be applied to plastic packaging produced in or imported into the UK that contains less than 30% recycled PET.
Ahmed Detta, chief executive and founder of Enviroo, said: “We were really pleased with the feedback we had from the consultation. Many respondents were really positive that this recycling facility would allow us to deal with more plastic waste on our shores.”
Jayne Hennessy, development manager at Peel L&P Environmental said: “The PET recycling facility will be a key part of the Plastic Park planned at Protos, enabling us to take plastic bottles that often end up in landfill and use them to create a new packaging product.
“The £165m Plastic Park will include a range of innovative technologies that deal with different types of plastic each designed to extract the most value from the waste. Whether it’s been mixed or sorted the Plastic Park will be able to deal with numerous types of plastic.”
A decision is expected in early 2021, with Enviroo aiming to be operational by spring 2022 should it secure approval.
