British supermarket chain Morrisons has bought a significant stake in a new plastic recycling facility in Fife, Scotland.
Claimed to be the first of its type in the world, the plant will convert soft plastics, including chocolate wrappers, crisp packets and food film, into plastic flakes, pellets and boards.
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By GlobalDataMorrisons co-owns the facility with recycling plant specialist Yes Recycling, which is also responsible for the plant’s construction.
The Fife recycling plant currently has the capacity to process 15,000tpa of flexible plastic packaging. It is expected to generate jobs for around 60 people.
Morrisons procurement director Jamie Winter said: “Lots of work has been done by retailers to reduce plastic, but little to recycle what remains.
“We’re taking on that challenge and making a significant investment in a state-of-the-art soft plastic recycling site.
“It’ll take problematic plastics, recycle them here in the UK and give them a new life.
“And by 2025, we want to increase our capability to be able to recycle and reuse the equivalent amount of plastic we put out onto the market within our own facilities.”
Morrisons will supply the hard-to-recycle soft plastics to be processed at the facility.
The retailer has pledged to recycle and reuse as much plastic at its UK recycling facilities as it releases onto the market by 2025.
During the same timeframe, Morrisons also aims to have halved its own-brand plastic packaging.
In April, the retailer committed to removing plastic carrier ‘bags for life’ from its stores next year.
It began removing the plastic bags from its Scotland stores that month, with plans to remove them from its locations in England and Wales over the following 12 months.
Morrisons currently owns a network of 18 own-brand food manufacturing sites.
