In its largest deal to date for the supply of food grade recycled HDPE, Nampak Plastics Europe will receive 12,000 tonnes/year from the recently expanded Hemswell reprocessing facility of AWS Eco Plastics. This help Nampak achieve its commitment to produce all its UK manufactured HDPE milk bottles with up to 30 per cent recycled content during 2010.
Nampak business development director James Crick confirms: “By providing the necessary rHDPE tonnages for the production of up to 30 per cent recycled content bottles, the contract with AWS will enable us to meet Defra’s Milk Roadmap medium range target for recycled content in milk packaging significantly ahead of time.”
AWS already produces optically sorted, washed HDPE flake at the Hemswell facility which, following a £14 mn investment programme, is now said to be the largest plastics bottles sorting plant in the UK, with a capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year - equivalent to 2 bn bottles.
The plastics currently recovered is used in other products, but from next year AWS will be able to produce rHDPE capable of meeting the exacting standards of the food industry - helping Nampak the loop of food grade HDPE by turning milk bottles back into bottles.
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, to reach its initial target of up to 10 per cent recycled content milk bottles during 2009.
AWS plans further expansion at Hemswell, as well as new plants throughout the UK and Europe.
