ELV recycling plant gains ISO 9001:2008 accreditation

Axion Polymers has gained ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for the quality management of its pioneering Shredder Waste Advanced Processing Plant (SWAPP) at Trafford Park, Manchester.

Designed, built and now operated by Axion’s in-house engineering team, the plant is one of the most advanced of its type in Europe. It is already capable of delivering over 95 percent recycling and recovery of materials from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) ahead of the 2015 EU ELV recycling and recovery target.

Non-metallic fractions from the equivalent of about 800,000 cars a year are separated at the multi-million pound facility, which opened in January 2011, through a combination of plastics recycling, producing materials for the construction industry and fuel to substitute coal. 

Axion’s Health and Safety Environmental Manager Adam Joyce, who led the implementation of the system, said: “The ISO 9001:2008 is an internationally-recognised standard for the quality management of businesses. It demonstrates that we run an effective quality management system and that we are committed to quality, our customers and to a process of continuous improvement.”

Further processing of plastic concentrate at Axion Polymers’ Salford plant creates a range of high quality plastic chip and extruded pellets, including Axpoly PP51, for a wide range of customers, including some in the automotive sector, thereby ‘closing the recycling loop’.

A further £1 million was invested in 2012 as part of on-going efficiency optimisation at the SWAPP, which has an annual 200,000 tonnes processing capacity. The plant has been shortlisted in the Recycling and Waste Management Business of the Year category of the National Recycling Awards 2013, with winners announced in July.

Axion Polymers’ Director, Keith Freegard, commented: “Having overcome many challenges to produce useful new products for highly-technical users from materials originally destined for landfill, gaining ISO 9001:2008 certification is a tremendous step forward that demonstrates we can deliver what we promise.”