Greenstar WES Wins WRAP Grant to Boost Plastics Recycling

Up to 20 new jobs will be created at award-winning plastic recycling company Greenstar WES Ltd. which has been chosen to receive a grant to boost the recycling of mixed plastics in Britain by 20,000 tonnes a year.

The capital grant award by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) follows a competition launched last June to increase the amount of non-bottle household plastic packaging that can be recycled in the UK.

Greenstar WES, which led the world in developing commercial production of food grade recycled plastic, will use the WRAP grant funding to add new sorting, separation and cleaning equipment at its site on the Wilton International industrial park. Related orders are being placed this month.

When the plant opens for business in early 2011, Greenstar WES will process up to 20,000 tonnes annually of mixed plastics such as margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, meat trays pots and other packaging materials from household and consumer recycling collections.

These materials will be processed into plastic flake or pellets for use as recycled content in the manufacture of new packaging containers and materials.

Marcus Gover, WRAP’s Director for Market Development, said: “We were delighted with the quality of bids for this grant. Mixed plastic packaging is an extremely visible waste stream, and householders increasingly want it to be recycled in the same way as other packaging materials such as glass, plastic bottles and cans.

“It has a value as a recycled material, and it does not make economic or environmental sense to dispose of it in landfill. We’re looking forward to the extra domestic capacity that Greenstar WES will add with this new facility.”

James Donaldson, Greenstar WES founder and managing director, added: “We’re delighted to receive WRAP funding for our new facility. The grant recognises Greenstar WES’s outstanding track record in developing the plastic recycling technology and processes to maximise resource recovery and reuse.”