North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson was delighted to officially open Recycling Technologies’ new headquarters on the South Marston Industrial Estate.
Recycling Technologies, which Justin opened in 2013, has engineered a machine to take plastic waste which cannot currently be recycled and turn it into a valuable hydrocarbon product called Plaxx. In turn this can benefit the environment by enhancing the recyclability of plastic, installing recycling capacity- with the ultimate aim of a 90% plastic recycling rate.
Currently, only 10% of global plastic packaging is recycled at its end of life, which has led to the crisis of plastic pollution – highlighted on David Attenborough’s Blue Planet documentary. According to a report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, by 2050 oceans are expected to contain more plastic than fish (by weight) if the situation is not addressed.
The Plaxx created by can be used in a number of applications, including food grade packaging. Recycling Technologies hopes this will turn plastic recycling from a linear 'produce, use and discard model', into a circular 'produce, use, recycle and reproduce' cycle.
To meet its production goals, Recycling Technologies intends to recruit in excess of 300 staff, creating high value manufacturing jobs in Swindon. Additionally, the company draws from Swindon and New Colleges with its apprenticeship programme and supports the bid for the Institute of Technology.
This 25,000 square foot factory facility will allow Recycling Technologies to embark on the next stage of its development to manufacture its RT7000 plastics recycling machines for installation in the UK and internationally.
Justin joined Recycling Technologies’ CEO Adrian Griffiths and Operations Director Will Garrard, as well as Swindon and Wiltshire LEP Director Paddy Bradley, to officially open the new headquarters and unveil the plaque that will be displayed on the building.
Earlier this year the Government announced it’s 25 year plan to improve the environment, at the heart of which was tackling plastic pollution. Measures introduced include:
- Extending the 5p plastic carrier bag charge (which has already seen 9 billion fewer plastic bags being used.)
- Encouraging supermarkets to introduce plastic free aisles.
- Exploring charging on all single-use plastic items, similar to the plastic carrier bag charge.
- Injecting funding into plastics innovation so we can find viable alternatives to plastic.
- Helping developing nations tackle pollution and reduce waste, including though UK Aid.
- Investment in to plastics research and development.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I’m delighted Swindon is leading the world in the development of critically required jobs and expertise to recycle waste plastic and that this Swindon-based company is emerging at the forefront of waste plastic recycling engineering and manufacturing to tackle this global problem. This Government has pledged to tackle the scourge of waste plastic and the Chancellor’s recent budget announcement to introduce a tax on plastic packaging with less than 30 per cent recycled content and review of producers’ responsibility will drive additional investment into the UK’s waste plastic recycling industry”
Adrian Griffiths, CEO, Recycling Technologies, said: “We have a goal to triple Europe’s current plastic recycling capability by 2027 through the provision of 10 million tonnes of urgently needed new waste plastic recycling capacity. Our manufacturing facility here in Stirling Court, Swindon will be capable of manufacturing 200 RT7000 machines a year to meet the growing demand for plastic recycling capacity in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. This facility would not have been possible without the support we have received from our shareholders, staff, the great research and development facilities at the UK’s top universities and business grants from Government and local business development agencies to commercialise this technology. A special thanks is owed to Swindon Borough Council who had the vision to allow us to develop and build our pre-production machine at its recycling centre and help us achieve this milestone in tackling the global problem of waste plastic.”
