Biffa Polymers Opens Mixed Plastics Processing Facility

Biffa Polymers, based in the United Kingdom, has opened what it claims is the U.K.’s first mixed plastic sorting and processing facility in Redcar, Middlesbrough, U.K.

The facility was opened after the company was awarded £1.187 million (US$1.924 million) in funding from Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in January 2010, following WRAP’s research that demonstrated the environmental benefits, commercial and technological viability for mixed plastics recycling.

Biffa’s facility will start processing 15,000 metric tons of mixed plastics per year from April 2011, building up to the full capacity of 20,000 metric tons per year within one year, according to the company. It will process plastics from Biffa’s MRFs, as well as local authorities and commercial customers from throughout the U.K.

The plant will sort the various plastics by polymer type and color, and will then process the material to produce a high quality output that the company says is suitable for a wide range of applications. In addition, some of the output will be processed through Biffa’s food grade HDPE recycling facility at the same site and go back into the manufacture of new milk bottles.  

“Following the success of being the first company in the U.K. to produce food grade recycled HDPE plastic, which is used to make new milk bottles, Biffa Polymers is delighted to be once again at the forefront of the recycling industry. We believe in pushing the boundaries to find the best solutions for plastic recycling in the UK,” says Martin Marron, Biffa Polymers’ managing director.