Renewi starts organics recycling project

United Kingdom-based Renewi plc has started converting organic household waste into bioplastics through Orgaworld, its organics waste and recycling subsidiary.

Renewi was created in 2017 with the merger of the U.K.-based Shanks Group and the Dutch firm Van Gansewinkel Groep BV.

At its Lelystad site in the Netherlands, Orgaworld has developed a pilot scale hydrolysis bioreactor that enables the in-house production of bioplastics from organic household waste.

The bioreactor can directly produce the required fatty acids from the organic waste flows directed to the site. During the process the organic waste is continuously sprayed with hot percolate, resulting in high bacteria concentrations. Those bacteria digest the organic waste into sugars, amino acids, fats and other microorganisms that subsequently ferment to produce the desired fatty acids. In the final stage, other types of bacteria convert the produced fatty acids into PHA, which Renewi calls “a fully biodegradable plastic.”

The bioplastics produced will be reused in the production of recyclable bin bags for collecting kitchen and green waste.

Bas Blom, Renewi’s managing director for its monostream division, says, “We are delighted with our new closed-loop process to turn organic household waste into bioplastics, showing how we are using innovation to fulfil our ‘waste no more’ goal. It is also completely in line with our strategy to create growth with projects using innovation as a competitive advantage.”