PETrecycling CZ is non-commercial, independent, free & unsponsored Czech web portal for funs, communities, administrative, law-makers, politicians, PET plastic industry etc. in the Czech Republic.

My closing statement read: "There is only one real effective and incentive method to encourage environmentally sound collecting of beverage one-way containers and it is deposit in combination with High-Tech R&D resulted Reverse Vending Machines!

By Helen Gilbert
AWS plant can recycle 2bn bottles a year

UK-based AWS Eco Plastics claims its plastic bottle recycling facility is the largest in Europe, following £14m worth of expansion work.

The upgraded facility can now segregate and process a wider range of plastics including polypropylene, polystyrene, coloured HDPE and coloured PET. These were previously baled and sent abroad for reprocessing or alternatively sent to landfill sites.

Most bottles are de-labelled, granulated and washed at the plant. The resulting flakes are then sent on for use in new plastic products including fleece jackets, piping and packaging.

The investment follows this year’s successful £6m fundraising from the Sustainable Technology Fund. The fund focuses on providing investment for UK companies developing clean and efficient industrial processes, and international asset manager Robeco through its Clean Tech private equity fund.

AWS chief executive, Jonathan Short, said that Britain lagged behind Europe in the recycling of plastic, which he described as historically treated to a “very basic degree in the UK and then transported overseas to the Far East for reprocessing.”

He added: “Our new plant with its considerable extra capacity can take plastic waste from local councils, supermarkets and other users of plastic and recycle it into flakes of the highest quality for use in general manufacturing and plastic bags.”

AWS also plans to install a new processing line next year, which will enable it to sort and process recycled plastics to the standard required by the food industry.

Short said: “There is nobody in the UK recycling industry making food grade plastics in any quantity which represents a huge opportunity for us.”

He added: “Until very recently no-one in the UK has been able to produce recycled plastic which was clean enough and odour free to be turned into food or drink packaging.”

Related external articles links:

• AWS Eco Plastics invests £14m in new reprocessing plant (22 Sep 2008)
• Money, money, money: why waste is attractive (17 Apr. 2008)