The facility is capable of converting up to 57,000 tonnes of PET annually which is equivalent to 1.3 billion plastic bottles

Biffa-Aldridge-MRF-Trommel

Biffa’s material recycling facility in Aldridge, UK. (Credit: Biffa)

UK-based recycling and waste management provider Biffa has opened a new £27.5m ($35.7m) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling plant in County Durham, UK.

Located in Seaham, County Durham, the facility can convert up to 57,000 tonnes of PET annually which is equivalent to 1.3 billion plastic bottles. It is expected to create 100 full-time jobs in the region.

At the new facility, PET will be converted back into high-purity plastic pellets which can be sold on to drink makers and other manufacturers.

Biffa said that the pellets can be used in a variety of industries, from food and drink packaging to clothing.

According to the firm, the new facility will help the UK to reduce plastic pollution by improving the country’s ability to recycle through sustainable closed-loop systems.

Biffa has built the new plant to support its plans to expand its nationwide recycling capabilities. The new facility is expected to generate £40m in revenues annually.

Biffa chief executive Michael Topham said: “This facility will help the UK address two of its most pressing issues – plastic waste and the climate emergency.

“Facilities like ours at Seaham will help ensure that we can recycle our own plastic waste here in the UK, creating jobs in the green economy and stimulating the development of more sustainable packaging.”

Biffa unveils plans to build another £7m recycling facility in Washington

The firm plans to source plastic waste for the plant through its collections and sorting activities, which include the 4.1 million tonnes of waste and recycling it collects from the country’s households and businesses annually.

The waste management firm already has plastics recycling facility in Redcar, North Yorkshire that recycles HDPE plastic milk bottles back into food-grade recycled HDPE.

Biffa has also announced that it will build a new £7m facility in the next 12 months in Washington, UK to expand its recycling capabilities for plastic tubs and trays.

The new facility is expected to handle about 20,000 tonnes of plastic annually and create about 30 jobs.

In February last year, Biffa has secured planning approval from Durham County Council for plastics recycling plant near Seaham.