Celebrating its one-year anniversary since opening in May 2012, the Continuum Recycling centre in Lincolnshire, UK, marked the occasion by passing the milestone of half a billion plastic bottles processed.
The pioneering recycled-PET joint venture between Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and ECO Plastics is now said to be responsible for processing around 50% of all the plastic bottles collected in the UK, and played a key role in Coca-Cola’s recycling efforts during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
According to the company, if placed end to end, all the bottles sorted to date at Continuum would stretch “more than twice around the earth”.
Jonathan Short, managing director of ECO Plastics, says: “To have hit the 500 million mark within a year of opening is a real achievement.
The challenge of creating a sustainable and 360-degree UK recycling industry is a real one. Projects like Continuum can make a material difference in helping us to achieve that vision.”
Over the past 12 months, Continuum has received a number of recognitions, including the Best Partnership prize at the UK Green Business Awards, in acknowledgement of the facility’s impact on the UK’s domestic recycling industry.
