Swindon could become the first town in England to host an advanced recycling plant capable of turning virtually any type of plastics waste back into oil, which can in turn be used to make plastic feedstocks. Recycling Technologies (Swindon / UK; www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk) is working with the town’s borough council and waste management specialists Public Power Solutions (Swindon; www.publicpowersolutions.co.uk) to conduct a feasibility study.

Both the council and Public Power Solutions have expressed interest in Swindon becoming the first site for Recycling Technologies’ "RT7000" feedstock recycling machine – which converts plastics waste back into an oil product called "Plaxx" – in England and the second-only in the UK as a whole. In 2019, the first RT7000 in the UK is planned to be built in Scotland.

Swindon’s council is reviewing its existing plastics recycling infrastructure, inspired by the recent publication of "Project Lodestar", initiated and run by participant organisations of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's (EMF, Cowes / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) "New Plastics Economy" initiative and led by Recycling Technologies. Lodestar research showed the potential for waste site operators to recycle all plastics in utilising mechanical and feedstock recycling in a single combined facility – an "advanced plastics recycling facility."

Adrian Griffiths, Recycling Technologies’ founder and CEO, said there was "an urgent need for more plastics recycling capacity in the UK to not only stem the flow of plastics into landfill and our environment, but to also create jobs and boost economic prosperity across the region."