Swindon To Build An Advanced Plastics Recycling Facility

Recycling Technologies Ltd. is working with Swindon Borough Council and power and waste management specialists Public Power Solutions Ltd, to assess the feasibility of delivering a a “first in England,”  advanced recycling facility for virtually all-plastics in Swindon.

Swindon Borough Council (SBC) has been assessing plastic recycling in the region and engagement work around a wider waste strategy with Swindon residents revealed the importance of the recycling collection service. As part of SBC’s 10 Year Waste Strategy, the council is now reviewing its current plastics recycling infrastructure, inspired by the recent publication of Project Lodestar. Lodestar research shows the potential for waste site operators to recycle ‘all plastics’ by combining state-of-the-art mechanical and feedstock recycling – the latter supplied by Recycling Technologies – in an advanced Plastics Recycling Facility (aPRF).

Both Swindon Borough Council and Public Power Solutions Ltd have expressed significant interest in Swindon becoming the first site for Recycling Technologies’ RT7000 feedstock recycling machine in England and the second-only in the UK as a whole. The first RT7000 in the UK is planned to be built in Scotland in 2019.

Recycling Technologies has developed and patented a plastics recycling machine, the RT7000 that converts plastic waste back into oil, called Plaxx, from which new plastics can be made. The machine heats up the plastic in the absence of oxygen to break the waste plastic down into Plaxx. This process allows the RT7000 to recycle plastics commonly considered unrecyclable such as plastic film, and laminated plastics such as food pouches and even crisp packets. Recycling Technologies already has a pilot plant, the Beta Plant, in Swindon that is processing mixed plastic waste and produces Plaxx.

Adrian Griffiths, CEO and Founder of Recycling Technologies, stated: “We are delighted that Swindon, the home of our manufacturing facility and HQ, is hoping to also be the home of England’s first aPRF which includes our RT7000 feedstock recycling machine. There is an urgent need for more plastic recycling capacity in the UK to not only stem the flow of plastics into landfill and our environment, but to also create jobs and boost economic prosperity across the region.”