Viridor signs plastic bottle supply agreement

Left to right: Nick Brown, Coca-Cola Enterprises; Jonathan Short, Eco Plastics and Herman van der Meij, Viridor.

United Kingdom-based recycling company Viridor has signed a 12-month contract to supply plastic bottles to ECO Plastics. Under the contract Viridor will supply ECO Plastics’ facility in Hemswell, U.K., with 10,000 metric tons of bottles in 2014, about 8 percent of ECO Plastics’ capacity. In total the plastics recycling facility consumes 150,000 metric tons of mixed plastics, roughly 35 percent of the bottles collected in the U.K. every year.

ECO Plastics says the move is part of its strategy its number of long-term supply contracts. The company hopes to have 70 percent of its plastic scrap feedstock locked up through long-term contracts by the end of 2014.

“Obviously a contract of this size is important for us, and we’re delighted to be partnering with one of the U.K.’s leading recycling and waste management companies in Viridor,” says Jonathan Short, deputy chairman of ECO Plastics. “Today’s announcement is also strategically significant for ECO Plastics, marking the latest phase in our plan to offer more strategic, long-term partnerships to our key suppliers,” he adds.

Continues Short, “Buying material on the spot market can at times deliver robust prices, but it provides very little certainty over future revenue levels. Crucially, that makes it difficult to raise the finance necessary to invest in new technology, which in turn means that there are still valuable resources which can’t currently be recycled domestically.”

Says Herman van der Meij, director of Viridor Resource Management, “Viridor has led the way in U.K. recycling through the development and operation of advanced technology recovery facilities. Practical partnerships and cross-sector collaborations are essential if we are to move towards a real circular economy.” He continues, “This deal shows leading businesses working together across the value chain, from goods manufacturing, retail, collection and sorting to reprocessing and remanufacture. We’re proud to be working with CCE and ECO Plastics.”

Nick Brown, associate director for Coca-Cola Enterprises, remarks, “We are delighted to see the way our partnership with ECO Plastics is transforming recycling in Great Britain. Collaboration unlocks great potential to optimize operations and this deal with Viridor is great news for all parties involved. It shows how leaders in the waste management industry are evolving to grasp the opportunities offered in a more circular economy and will act as reassurance to householders and local authorities that the domestic recycling industry is thriving.”