Kent Plastics Recycling Plant Underway

Leading recycling company Viridor confirms construction of its new state-of-the-art £12.5M Plastics Recycling Facility (PRF) has started in Rochester, with Stadler UK responsible for delivering the project.

Construction began earlier this month and it will result in a new plastics recycling facility capable of processing 75,000 tons of mixed plastics each year into high quality clean plastic grades ready to be used in the production of new plastic products and packaging. The plant, which is the fourth specialist PRF Stadler UK has been commissioned to deliver will also be able to separate up to 10,000 tonnes of glass from combined input streams every year.

This significant investment in Kent will result in an important number of new job opportunities during construction as well as potential local business opportunities. Expected to be operational in early autumn, the PRF will result in up to 26 permanent job opportunities when operational.

It is the first plant of this size to have the capability to recover mixed plastics as well as comingled glass and cans and brings together the best in sorting technology.

Kings Hill-based Herman van der Meij, director of resource management, said:
“Our industry is at the heart of making the green economy a reality. 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.

“We have had a strong presence in the south east of England for quite some time, developing resource-management infrastructure as well as investing in our people to make sure we deliver a high quality service and added-value to our customers as well as value to society and broader stakeholders. This latest investment is a signal of our real commitment towards helping develop a circular economy in the UK.”

Speaking on behalf of Recoup, a leading authority on plastics waste and resource management, Stuart Foster said:
“We are delighted to see another PRF about to come on stream. It is imperative that the UK is able to recycle more of its plastic resource as this will cut the use of virgin feedstock, help achieve the increasing packaging recycling targets, reduce the CO2 load and, very importantly, significantly reduce the amount of plastic which ends up in landfill. We congratulate Viridor and its technology-supplier Stadler UK on this new facility.”

Trevor Smart, UK Sales Manager, Stadler UK, added:
“We are delighted to be working with Viridor on this prestigious development. The combination of our expertise in the design and delivery of plastics recycling facilities and excellent working relationship with Viridor will see this multi-million pound, state of the art facility open for processing later this year.”

As a supplier of equipment to the plant, Steve Almond, sales engineer at TOMRA Sorting UK, commented:
“We’re delighted that our technology has been chosen for this state-of-the-art plastics recycling facility and using TOMRA’s TITECH technology, it is possible to recover high value, high purity different types plastic materials including: Polyethylene (PE) and Polyethylene-terephthalate (PET), as well as Polystyrene (PS), Polypropylene (PP) and Polyvinylchloride (PVC).”