Page 18 - Plastics News March 2021

CompAny news

BP and SABIC collaborate for Biffa to invest into Sunderland

Plastics recycling facility

p plc (London) and SABIC K-based plastic recycling pioneer Biffa has
B(Jubail, Saudi Arabia) have Uannounced a £13m investment into its facility in
just signed a new agreement to Washington, Sunderland. The investment is part of the
work together to drive circular company’s commitment to building a circular economy
economy in the petrochemical and will enhance its recycling capability for high-
activities at the Gelsenkirchen density polyethene (HDPE), a material commonly used
(Germany) chemical complex. for manufacturing milk bottles. It will allow Biffa to
Building on a long-established recycle an additional 14,000t of HDPE a year, taking its
relationship between the two total annual capacity to 39,000t. The company will also
companies at the production create another 50 new jobs to facilitate the increased
site, the new collaboration will capacity. It currently employs 115 people in the area.
help to increase production of Biffa resources and energy division chief operating
certified circular products that take used mixed plastics officer Mick Davis said: “This investment in Washington
to make feedstock, thereby reducing the amount of fossil is another example of Biffa onshoring recycling
resources needed in the petrochemical plants at the site. capacity in our strategic journey to creating closed-
Certified circular polymers are part of SABIC’S Trucircle loop recycling in the UK. “We look forward to being
portfolio and are produced using advanced recycling to able to offer manufacturers more high-quality recycled
convert low quality mixed and used plastic, otherwise plastics and help prevent the export of plastics for
destined for incineration or landfill, into pyrolysis oil. The reprocessing. “We
oil, which acts as an alternative feedstock to traditional have a strong and
fossil materials, will be processed at bp’s Gelsenkirchen growing presence
refining site and then used by SABIC in its Gelsenkirchen in the north-east of
polymer plants to produce certified circular products. England, a region
The final material has identical properties to virgin-based
polymers and allows plastics to be recycled over and over which is playing a
again, with no loss of properties or characteristics. After leading role in the
successful trials in December 2020, polymer production UK’s green industrial
using the alternative feedstock started at the site early revolution, and
this year. “SABIC is committed to helping to create a new we are delighted
circular economy where plastic never becomes waste. to be creating 50
Advanced recycling allows us to increase the production new jobs as part of
of more sustainable materials and use our planet’s these plans.” Biffa
resources wisely, whilst reducing the use of conventional has invested more
approaches such as landfill and combustion. Advanced than £54.5m in plastics recycling infrastructure in the
recycling has a crucial role to play in the current recycling last five years and is planning to quadruple its plastics
mix as it can capture value from plastic waste streams recycling capacity by 2030. Last year, the company
that have traditionally been ignored or discarded,” said unveiled an advanced £27.5m plastics recycling facility
Fahad Al Swailem, Vice President, PE & Sales at SABIC. at Seaham, County Durham. The expansion is the latest
The certified base chemicals from bp and the certified in a series of significant strategic investments made
circular polymers from SABIC are recognised through the by the Group as part of its commitment to building a
International Sustainability and Carbon Certification plus circular economy. The new investment will take Biffa’s
(ISCC+) scheme that certifies content and standards across overall plastic recycling capacity to 155,000 tonnes
the value chain from source to end product. each year.

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