UK-based packaging company Berry BPI, a subsidiary of Berry Global, has installed a wash plant and recycling facility at its factory in Heanor, Derbyshire.
The system will use an advanced purification process to produce high quality and consistent recycled material from household and industrial waste, allowing Berry BPI to recycle both flexible and rigid plastics.
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Material recycled at the plant can be used for several industrial and consumer rigid and flexible applications, including storage boxes and collation shrink films.
The technology will allow Berry BPI to recycle around 1,200t more material a year.
Water from the recycling facility will be recirculated and reused, reducing the company’s overall water consumption.
Waste produced in the recycling process will be sent to a waste-to-energy plant in Nottingham, where it will be combusted to generate electricity.
The installation is in line with Berry Global’s ongoing investment to address increasing demand for recycled content.
Berry BPI sales and marketing director Gerry McGarry said: “This is an important development that strengthens our leadership in plastic recycling.
“The versatility of the line will enable us to become even more responsive in meeting the growing demand for high quality recycled material for new applications to support customers’ sustainability objectives, in particular the requirements of the forthcoming Plastics Packaging Tax, while the reduced water consumption demonstrates our own sustainability commitments.”
The installation was co-funded by the Waste Resource and Action Programme (WRAP), a UK-based sustainability charity.
WRAP focuses on providing practical solutions for making resource usage more efficient worldwide by collaborating with government, businesses and communities.
In February, Berry Global M&H introduced a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) spirit bottle designed for the e-commerce market.
The postal 50ml PET bottle was developed in response to growing opportunities for online sales of spirits and the popularity of gin.
