(plasteurope) -- Thanks to an investment of GBP 4.5m (EUR 5.4m) in a state-of-the-art waste wash plant, PE film producer British Polythene Industries (BPI, Greenock, Scotland) has increased recycling capacity at its Rhymney / South Wales plant by 25,000 t/y. The new plant will be used, in particular, to recycle waste film from the agriculture and horticulture markets. It will enable bpi.recycled products to strengthen its range of 100% recycled PE products.
In addition to being one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe, the wash plant will also be one of the most environmentally friendly. It employs features such as low energy, high output motors, energy-saving lighting and rainwater harvesting to replace water lost each day.
BPI is Europe's largest recycler of waste PE, now capable of reprocessing up to 95,000 t/y annually from a network of strategically located, approved sites across the UK. Waste farm plastic is a continuing problem for UK farmers and growers. An estimated 80,000 t is generated annually, much of it heavily contaminated with soil, sand and other contaminants.
As a result, a large percentage of it is exported to countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia, where it is often recycled using primitive, manual techniques. A high volume of the UK's waste farm polythene is also still being sent to landfill or illegally burnt.
MRC