Work has started on building an advanced recycling plant on Teesside that uses a “revolutionary” hydrothermal process to convert plastics back into the oils and chemicals they were made from.
The plant at Wilton International is the brainchild of Mura Technology and will see up to 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste processed every year.
Due to go into operation in 2022, it will be the first commercial-scale plant to use Mura’s advanced recycling HydroPRS system able to reprocess all forms of plastic waste and provide the raw ingredients for a sustainable circular plastic economy.
It will form the blueprint for a rapid global rollout that will see one million tonnes of capacity in development worldwide by 2025 – equivalent to nearly half the plastic packaging waste produced in the 海角视频 each year.
The project – which was last October awarded £4.42m of Government support through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging programme – is being developed by Renew ELP, the 海角视频 subsidiary of Mura Technology, and has been backed by environmental groups, including Ocean Generation.
To support the Teesside plant, Mura has also received investment from Igus GmbH.
Dr Steve Mahon, chief executive of Mura Technology, said: “We are at the tipping point of an environmental catastrophe – it’s time to seize the initiative and put an end to plastic pollution across the world.
“HydroPRS represents a win-win for the environment, economy and society, helping keep our environment free from plastic and oil where it belongs – in the ground.
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“We need to act now and that’s why we’re taking a global-first approach – to scale fast and meet the challenge head on. We’re working with global partners to deploy our unique HydroPRS process where it’s needed, today, to create a sustainable future and eliminate plastic pollution.”
He added: “The problem isn’t plastic, it’s where it ends up. We want to change the way the world thinks about plastics – not as something to throw away, but as a valuable resource that can be reused over and over without harming our natural world.”
Mura is planning other sites in Germany, Asia and the US. The company says it is also in advanced discussions with global brands and investors to fund and deploy HydroPRS and use the raw ingredients it creates to eliminate the need for new virgin plastic, meeting consumer demand for action.
Mura’s HydroPRS process uses supercritical steam to convert plastics back into the components they were made from, ready to be used for new virgin-grade plastic products.
Importantly, the products may be suitable for use in food-contact packaging, unlike conventional recycling processes.
It can reprocess all forms of plastic, including films, pots, tubs and trays that can currently only be incinerated or sent to landfill, with no limit to the number of times the same material can be salvaged.
The HydroPRS process is designed to work alongside conventional recycling and wider initiatives to reduce and reuse plastic.
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Mura says this means it has the potential to eliminate single-use plastic.
Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “The Government is committed to both clamping down on the unacceptable plastic waste that harms our environment and ensuring more materials can be reused instead of being thrown away.
“By investing in these truly groundbreaking technologies, we will help to drive these efforts even further, and I look forward to seeing them develop and deliver real results.”