Leadec UK and plastic recycler Jayplas have developed a solution to recycle and reuse plastic packaging waste. The goal is to create a closed-loop process. The results are encouraging: A 81-ton carbon reduction from the 30,5 metric tons of bags purchased annually at the Halewood site.
At a plant in Halewood, Leadec is responsible for both cleaning and waste management. Over the course of a year, the team currently goes through around 230,000 plastic bags, which are used to collect the waste materials from the factory. In addition, it is responsible for processing the waste, i.e., collecting it, basic sorting, baling plastic packaging and finally finding the best waste supplier to purchase the waste.
“The aim of the project was to improve the waste hierarchy by increasing recycling while reducing costs by 6.6 pence per sack, which equates to £15,000 per year. To create a closed-loop recycling system, we decided to team up with Jayplas, one of the largest specialist plastic recyclers, converters and recycled plastic packaging manufacturers in the UK,” explains Kris Fearnley, Leadec’s Waste Manager at Halewood.
Twelve months ago, the parties reached a decision on the specifications for the types of film to be recycled and the end product. This was followed by trials of the collection and recycling of the film waste and supply of finished plastic sacks.
The Leadec team was responsible for completing a pre-sort by hand of the agreed film waste, which was then transported to Japylas’ fully automated flexible plastic segregation facility. An optical near-infrared (NIR) sorting system was used to sort the incoming bales a second time, this time by polymer type and color. The bales were then transported to the washing and pelletizing system.
In Jayplas’ flexible packaging department, the PCR pellets were blown into bags and processed according to the agreed specifications. The bags made from 100% PCR were delivered back to Halewood, which uses around 230,000 bags a year.
The results of the project speak for themselves. “At Halewood, we now supply all post-industrial polythene film waste to a reprocessor who then blows and converts the LDPE into strong sacks made from 100% reclaimed polymer. This equates to a carbon reduction of 80 tons per year,” says Kris Fearnley.
A spokesperson for Jayplas said that the project “shows how it is possible to close the loop, keeping the cycle of material within the UK. We are delighted to supply Leadec’s Halewood operations with our service.”
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