Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, yesterday visited EMR’s pioneering plastic recycling joint venture partner MBA Polymers UK as part of a short tour of the East Midlands.
The facility, which is located in Worksop, produces 50,000 tonnes of high quality, recycled plastic each year and is one of the largest and most advanced post consumer plastic recycling facilities in the world.
Chris Sheppard, EMR CEO said:
“Our partnership with MBA was a key step in our journey towards zero waste. In the UK we recycle around two million tonnes of end of life cars and durable consumer goods. We have always been very good at recovering the metals, which account for around 75% of everything we recycle, but we have been acutely aware that to be truly resource efficient we had to go further to recycle and recover the complex mix of residual materials such as plastic, rubber and textiles that ended up in landfill. MBA, with their patented technology were the first to offer the possibility of sorting plastics so that it was possible to create a high quality, recycled product with properties comparable to virgin material.”
Dr Vince Cable said:
“MBA Polymers are demonstrating how manufacturing can benefit both the economy and the environment. Whether it’s turning old cars into new cars and coffee machines, or broken computers into brand-new vacuum cleaners, they are transforming scrapheap rubbish into the materials used in many household goods. A strong manufacturing sector lies at the heart of a sustainable economic recovery. The Government's industrial strategy is giving business the confidence to invest - creating more high skilled, long term jobs in the UK,"
Since establishing its joint venture with MBA, EMR has developed and built facilities to recycle and recover around 500,000t of material that previously went to landfill every year. The final step in the process is a joint venture with Chinook Sciences and will take the remaining materials after all that can be recycled has been recycled and turn it into renewable energy. This ‘End Stage Recycling’ facility is currently in commissioning and will make use of Chinook’s award winning advanced gasification technology.
“EMR’s expertise in recycling and logistics, MBA’s leadership in plastic recycling and Chinook Sciences advanced energy recovery technology is a powerful combination. We will be recycling and recovering around 99% of all the end of life goods we handle, a remarkable and world leading position, and a clear demonstration of a sustainable circular economy.”
said Chris Sheppard.
