Partnership secures future of up to 30% rHDPE milk bottles

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27/10/2008

Nampak Plastics Europe announces its largest deal to date for the supply of food grade recycled HDPE from leading plastics reprocessor AWS Eco Plastics Limited.

The contract will see AWS’ recently expanded Hemswell reprocessing facility in Lincolnshire provide Nampak with 12,000 tonnes of rHPDE, helping it to achieve its commitment to producing all its UK manufactured HDPE milk bottles with up to 30% recycled content during 2010.

James Crick, Business Development Director at Nampak Plastics Europe, comments: “This is a landmark partnership for us and for the future of HDPE milk bottles. By providing the necessary rHDPE tonnages for the production of up to 30% recycled content bottles, the contract with AWS will enable Nampak to meet Defra’s Milk Roadmap medium range target for recycled content in milk packaging significantly ahead of time. The positive climate surrounding milk bottle recycling will be strengthened by this partnership announcement today, which will also build the green credentials of a product that is a firm consumer favourite.”

AWS is already producing optically sorted, washed HDPE flake at its Hemswell facility which, following a £14 million capital investment programme, is now the largest plastic bottles sorting plant in the UK. As a result of this investment, the plant’s capacity has increased from 25,000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to 500 million plastic bottles, to 100,000 tonnes per annum, equivalent to two billion plastic bottles.

Currently, the plastic recovered from the bottles is used in products including fleece jackets, pipes, packaging and toys. However, from next year AWS will be able to produce rHDPE capable of meeting the exacting standards of the food industry; helping Nampak to close the loop of food grade HDPE by turning milk bottles back into bottles.

Jonathan Short, Chief Executive of AWS, said: “This is a major breakthrough for AWS and for the whole recycling industry. It follows months of negotiation with Nampak. Until very recently, no-one in the UK has been able to produce recycled plastic in any sizable quantity which was clean enough and odour-free to be turned into food or drink packaging. This is something supermarkets and food manufacturers have been seeking for some time as they try to meet their recycling targets and demonstrate their commitment to improve environmental performance.”

Keith Gilbert, the partner at the law firm Howes Percival who advised Nampak on the contract with AWS, said: “Nampak and AWS deserve congratulations for working together to push forward the scope of plastics recycling in the dairy industry. Consumers will be even more encouraged to recycle their milk bottles when they begin to see those bottles using recycled material.”

Nampak already has contracts in place with Closed Loop London and Greenstar (WES), each for the supply of 6,000 tonnes of food grade recycled HDPE per annum, allowing Nampak to reach its initial target of up to 10% recycled content milk bottles during 2009.

AWS has plans to expand and extend its operation further at Hemswell, as well as operating new plants throughout the UK and Europe. 

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