Enviroo is proud to play a central role at the Plastic Park, reducing waste and helping the region target Net Zero. At Protos our technology will be used to take food and beverage packaging, predominantly PET (polyethylene terephthalate) such as plastic bottles, and recycle them. We recycle 100% of PET plastic waste, creating ‘food-grade’ polymers that are used to recreate food and drink packaging. This closed-loop recycling method has long term viability and with the UK producing 4.9 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, it’s imperative we wean ourselves off virgin plastic.

We can achieve this by embracing the closed-loop method. Our technology at Protos is plugging into the North West’s circular economy, supporting its goal to become net zero before the national 2050 target date.

To realistically meet net zero targets we need a total reimagination of the recycling industry – changing our relationship with plastics. By bringing together a number of innovative processing and treatment technologies, the Protos Plastic Park will help transform how the country recycles.

From turning plastic into new packaging (with the recycled materials taken off site to be used again) to using unrecyclable plastic to generate energy, Protos is a blueprint for the future of our recycling industry.

And we can go further. The reimagination of the recycling industry must include constant research. Research underpins Enviroo’s commitment to transforming the way we recycle. We have recently planned a collaboration with a select number of packagers which will focus on processing food-grade plastics including PET and Polypropene (PP), a plastic that is more difficult to recycle for use in food-contact packaging than High-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging.

PP is the most dominant polymer in the recycling stream. In Europe alone 10 million tonnes of PP is produced and only 15% of this is being recycled. We need to find a solution.

Enviroo has collaborated with a Masters Researcher at the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, Lancaster University who is studying recycling behaviours to understand how we can better incentivise people to recycle outside of the home. This will aide our understanding of behaviours around recycling and discover what incentivises consumers to recycle whilst on-the-go. On a more practical level, Enviroo plans to develop a customised reverse vending machine that can collect consumers’ recyclable waste outside of the home. This project will investigate how best to encourage consumers to use this facility.

Enviroo is disrupting the recycling industry. We want to change perceptions of how the industry operates, and develop a feeling of trust in what we do. Enviroo will do this by demonstrating an open and transparent approach to how we recycle plastics. It’s imperative that recyclers engage with and work within local communities to help create awareness. Protos is already doing this and Enviroo looks forward to playing a key role in the reimagination of the industry at the UK’s first Plastic Park.