Ineos and Viridor close the loop with new hybrid plastics range available across Europe

Ineos and Viridor have joined forces in a project that will produce a range of high-specification polymers with up to 50% or more post-consumer recycled content.

Ineos will be supplied with recovered polymer from Viridor’s new £65mn post-consumer polymers recycling plant at the Avonmouth Resource Recovery Centre, near Bristol. The plant is reported to be the UK’s largest multi-polymer recycling and reprocessing facility. It is powered by Viridor’s £252mn energy recovery plant, which puts non-recyclable waste to work to produce electricity and heat.

Commenting on the news, Ineos Olefins & Polymers CEO Rob Ingram said: ‘Plastic is a valuable resource. So much so that we want to encourage the increasing collection and recycling of plastic materials after their initial use… Using our polymer expertise, we will engineer a new range of polymers to incorporate high levels of recycled plastics. These new materials will meet growing demand for increased levels of recycled content without compromise to product performance and quality.’

According to Viridor Managing Director Phil Piddington, the company’s 2019 Recycling Index, which tracks public attitudes to recycling, found that nine in 10 (89%) of those polled believe that existing plastic should be used to create useful resources which can be used again. He said: ‘Our index also demonstrates that future buying choices will be influenced by packaging made from recyclable material (65% are more likely to buy products made from recyclable material), with 76% saying there should be mandatory lessons on recycling in schools.’

Viridor Resource Management Managing Director Keith Trower added: ‘This partnership brings together the expertise and investment that is the vital to translate our common sustainability targets into practical reality in the marketplace. This win-win partnership creates the important pathway to the circular economy and tackles the two tough issues of reducing the level of waste generated in cities and the creation of high value materials that can be used in high value, tailored applications across many markets.’

Artist’s impression of Avonmouth resource recovery centre
Photo: Viridor