By BusinessGreen staff, Source: BusinessGreen

The UK’s ‘first’ plastic bag and film recycling facility is set to open towards the end of the year in Woolwich, South London.

The £10.7m plant can handle used polythene shopping bags and packaging film that typically end up in landfill or are incinerated. It is expected to process around 20,000 tonnes of the material each year into a clean plastic granulate that replaces virgin material in the manufacture of new black bags and carrier bags.

Developer PlasRecycle insists recycling the bags and film will also cut carbon emissions, as well as saving energy and other resources. It says recycling one tonne of plastic saves 1.5 tonnes of CO2 and points to a 2011 Environment Agency report that found paper and cotton bags have to be reused at least three and 131 times respectively to ensure they have a lower carbon footprint than high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags.

Moreover, lighter plastic packaging saves energy in transport, preserves food longer and are more easily recyclable, PlasRecycle says.

The company developed the proprietary process and raised finance for the plant from investors including Foresight Environmental Fund, the London Waste & Recycling Board and WRAP.

It intends to source bags and film from waste companies, retailers and councils and expects to create 32 jobs at the plant.

“PlasRecycle brings a green option to local authorities and businesses that have previously had little choice but to export, landfill or incinerate their waste plastic bags and packaging film,” said Paul Levett, PlasRecycle’s chairman. “This initiative will create green jobs in the UK and can be a key part of producer responsibility programmes for the packaging and retail industries.”

London Mayor Boris Johnson welcomed the “fantastic” new plant as part of the city’s “burgeoning” recycling sector, which he said is helping “to save huge sums of money while supporting new jobs and growth, and reducing carbon emissions in the capital”.

Waste minister Lord de Mauley added: “There is a huge global market for waste and recycling and I want to see UK businesses leading the way on this and helping us compete in the global race.”

The news comes as Nick Clegg announced England will join Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in charging for plastic bags in shops, while European Commission President José Manuel Barroso announced last week that Brussels is preparing to bring in legislation as soon as next year.