28/2/23 - Morrisons - Pioneering Soft Plastic Recycling Site
PIONEERING SOFT PLASTIC RECYCLING SITE OPENS DOORS IN FIFE
- Site tackles UK challenge of ‘hard to recycle’ soft plastic -
- The site is the first of its kind that can process a mix of plastics, including film, into reusable materials -
A pioneering new recycling facility is now open in Fife which will reprocess ‘hard-to-recycle’ soft plastics. It aims to develop a greater plastics recycling infrastructure here in the UK, to keep the material in a ‘closed loop’ and save it from being exported overseas.
The site is co-owned by Morrisons and was constructed and will be operated by recycling plant specialists Yes Recycling. A number of other organisations including Nestlé UK & Ireland and Zero Waste Scotland, have also been involved in the development of this ground-breaking recycling plant.
The new recycling plant uses patented technology, developed over the last seven years. It will turn hard-to-recycle flexible food packaging into plastic flakes, pellets and new Ecosheet which can be used widely, for example in the construction industry and in the agriculture industry. At full capacity, the site will recycle 15,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic packaging a year.
The hard-to-recycle soft plastic - including chocolate wrappers, crisp packets and food film - will be sent to the site from Morrisons distribution sites and stores**, and by Cireco Scotland who operate Fife Council’s household kerbside collection service and who also separate out the plastics ready for recycling. Fife is currently one of a limited number of local councils who collect and segregate hard-to-recycle plastic from its customer collections and send it to a recycling facility.
For further information:
Contact the Morrisons press office on pressoffice@morrisonsplc.co.uk or 0345 877 8778.
Morrisons - Pioneering new recycling facility, London, 27th February 2023
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A pioneering new recycling facility that uses innovative technology developed over 7 years to process ‘hard-to-recycle’ soft plastics into building material is now open in Fife. The ground-breaking recycling plant is co-owned by Morrisons and will be operated by recycling plant specialists Yes Recycling. The site will process soft plastics from Morrisons distribution sites and stores and Cireco Scotland who operate Fife Council’s household kerbside collection service.
Hard-to-recycle soft plastic - including chocolate wrappers, crisp packets and food film – has not previously been recycled widely due to limitations of technology to recycle this material into commercially viable products. The new site is the first of its kind that can process a mix of plastics, including film, into reusable materials and is a major step forward for the British recycling industry - as governments around the world push for a ‘green industria
