The UK branch of recycling specialist Veolia (Paris / France; www.veolia.com) has invested GBP 1m (EUR 1.1m) in new equipment at its recycling facility in Dagenham / UK after seeing demand rise following the roll-out of the “UK Plastics Pact” – see Plasteurope.com of 04.05.2018. Veolia UK (www.veolia.co.uk) bought the east London plant in 2016 after the previous owner Euro Closed Loop Recycling had gone bust in the same year – see Plasteurope.com 12.07.2016. Veolia said the latest investment in the UK would pay for a new granulator, a new processing kit and an upgrade for the washing process, allowing a 20% increase in rHDPE food grade production.

The funding coincides with the first anniversary of the UK Plastics Pact, co-founded by recycling consultancy Wrap (Banbury / UK; www.wrap.org.uk) and featuring 127 companies and trade organisations which aim to promote change in the way plastics are designed, produced, used, re-used, disposed of and reprocessed. As well as Veolia, members include retailer Marks & Spencer (London / UK; www.marksandspencer.com), the British Plastics Federation (BPF, London; www.bpf.co.uk), packaging group RPC (Rushden / UK; www.rpc-group.com) and recycling firm Viridor (Taunton / UK; www.viridor.co.uk).

Richard Kirkman, Veolia’s chief technology and innovation officer, said the success of the pact was partly the reason for the latest investment in the Dagenham plant. “The UK Plastics Pact has given a boost to the industry that was needed to make plastic recycling a reality. Since the launch we have seen demand increase and so we had to ensure our site was working efficiently to meet demand.”

Kirkman said the company had also supported the pact by working with household goods giant Unilever (Rotterdam / The Netherlands; www.unilever.com) in its work to introduce a new type of black pigment for its personal care bottles that can be detected by Veolia’s infrared scanners and subsequently recycled. Earlier this year, Veolia also unveiled a reverse vending machine at London’s Kings Cross railway station for people to return bottles and receive a voucher worth 10% off the bill at a nearby restaurant – see Plasteurope.com of 28.03.2019.