MBA Polymers, European Metal Recycling Form JV

European Metal Recycling Ltd. and MBA Polymers, Inc. announced the formation of a joint venture company to build and operate a plastics recycling facility in the United Kingdom, although a final location has yet to be chosen. The joint venture plans to begin operation of a 60,000 metric ton per year processing plant by early next year.

While EMR is committed to providing the facility with 60,000 metric tons per year, the number of years in which the two will combine on the facility has yet to bbe announced.

The new company, called MBA Polymers UK, is majority owned by MBA Polymers and will recover plastics from upgraded "shredder residue." EMR presently operates nine shredders in the UK.

EMR is concentrating the plastics fraction of the shredder residue produced from its large-scale metal recycling operations. This additional processing will also allow EMR to capture a higher percentage of the metals. The plant will only take material supplied by EMR.

The JV will receive concentrated plastics-rich material from EMR’s facilities and will clean, sort and upgrade the plastics, selling the recovered plastics to MBA’s customers.

"EMR is a leader in metals recycling and this collaboration with MBA will make us a leader in plastic recycling too. It is a very significant step not only for EMR and MBA but for the UK too as this investment will allow us to recover the previously untapped plastic resource in the materials we recycle," said David Ireland, EMR’s director of Technical Services. Not only will this divert materials from landfill and generate significant CO2 savings but it will also put EMR at the forefront in meeting the very demanding recycling targets set under producer responsibility regimes in vehicle and electronics recycling. These targets are very exacting and can only be met by applying new technologies to the recovery of plastics. We have been working with MBA for some time on this problem and we are very excited that we have now reached the stage where we can announce our intention to build a plant in the UK."

"Additional benefits are realized through the efficient production of plastics from plentiful domestic scrap and waste materials, which is particularly important in these times of high energy and commodity costs. Rather than build expensive and energy-consuming chemical plants, our company provides a way for Europe to manufacture the plastics it needs at significantly lower economic and environmental costs," said Michael Biddle, MBA’s founder and president.

EMR, headquartered in Warrington, England, handles more than 10 million metric tons of recyclables a year. The company operates at more than 100 locations worldwide.

MBA Polymers, Inc., based in Richmond, Calif., is a recognized leader at recycling high-value plastics from complex waste streams and end-of-life durable goods such as appliances, computer and business equipment, automobiles, and sporting equipment.

In addition to operating a large pilot, demonstration and R&D facility at its Richmond headquarters, the company designed, built and operates the two most advanced plastics recycling facilities in the world: one in Guangzhou, China and the other in Kematen, Austria.