Biffa to begin commissioning of £16m Redcar expansion

Biffa will begin commissioning of a third HDPE line at its plastics recycling plant in Redcar next month, adding up to 24,000 tonnes of capacity to the facility.

The £16 million line will process post-consumer recyclable HDPE milk and juice bottles, transported in bulk from Biffa's materials recycling facilities (MRFs).

Biffa said the plant equipment is now fully installed ahead of commissioning, and "full operation" should be achieved by March 2023, subject to the granting of a permit by the Environment Agency.

The growth of the plant will also see the creation of upwards of 20 new jobs, Biffa said.

Biffa constructed the Redcar facility in 2008, designed to process around 50,000 tonnes of material. Biffa said Redcar was the world's first commercially available rHDPE food grade production plant.

The expansion plans were approved by Redcar and Cleveland council in July after a consultation.

In the planning document, Biffa explained the process at the new line would have a yield of approximately 70%. Therefore, the expected product output would be almost 17,000 tonnes per year.

"The facility would therefore make a significant contribution to processing plastics at a time when there is a keen public and media focus on plastics recovery, reuse and recycling," Biffa explained.

It added: "Biffa consider that this pioneering facility would play a crucial role in plastics recycling and make a significant contribution to a sustainable, low carbon, resource and energy efficient economy in Redcar and the North East."

Biffa currently has the capacity to recycle around 155,000 tonnes across its polymer recycling portfolio, which also includes Washington and Seaham, which recycle PP and PET respectively.

The company has said it hopes to raise this capacity to 240,000 tonnes by 2030, as the race to process plastic in the UK continues.

In the below video, Biffa provides more information on the plant and its process.

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