UK-based chemical recycling pioneer, Recycling Technologies, officially opened its new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Swindon, south England, on 16 Nov, in the presence of company officials and local MP Justin Tomlinson.
The 25,000 square foot factory will have the capacity to manufacture 200 RT7000 recycling machines per year, destined for markets in the UK and Europe.
The patented recycling machine RT7000 converts plastics to Plaxx oil, which can be used as fuel to make new plastics.
In this process, the RT7000 heats up the plastic in the absence of oxygen to break the waste plastic down into Plaxx.
The process allows the recycling of plastics currently considered unrecyclable, such as plastic film, laminated food pouches and crisp packets and even black plastics.
Another feature of RT7000 is its small size, which allows it to be installed within existing waste management facilities, reducing the financial and environmental costs of transporting residual plastic waste.
“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,” said Adrian Griffiths, CEO, Recycling Technologies at the opening ceremony.
As part of this, Recycling Technologies expects to recruit more than 300 people within the facility, in addition to offering apprenticeship programmes.
For the project, Griffiths said his company received the backing of top UK universities and the government, as well as the Swindon Borough Council, which allowed RT to develop the pre-production machine at its recycling centre.