Viridor Ltd., a United Kingdom waste management group based in Exeter, England, has started construction on a new 12.5 million pound ($20.9 million) plastics recycling facility in Rochester, England.
The company, which operates 320 recycling sites across the U.K., said that when operational in the early autumn the state-of-the-art facility would be able to process 75,000 metric tons of mixed plastic annually into what it called “high quality clean plastic grades, ready to be used in the production of new plastic products and packaging.”
The new plant will be capable of recovering mixed plastic, co-mingled glass and cans and is expected to result in the creation of up to 26 permanent jobs once it is fully operational.
Equipment being installed in the site will include ballistic separators, eddy current separators, flexible screens and “the latest sensor-based sorting equipment,” Viridor said in a news release.
Herman van der Meij, Viridor's resource management director argued the investment was a signal of the company's “real commitment towards helping develop a circular economy in the U.K.”
“Our industry is at the heart of making the green economy a reality,” he added.
“Making the most of the resources we have within the UK is becoming increasingly important as it creates employment opportunities and helps the country achieve its ambitions of becoming a leader in sustainability.”