PolyMet technology awarded £0.8 million to tackle black plastic

Ecosurety, a recycling compliance scheme, is working with plastic innovation specialists Impact Solutions and Impact Recycling to develop a technique called PolyMet which can remove the pigment from plastic.

This unique project has been awarded £0.8m by the UK Government’s Innovate UK grant scheme for R&D and acceleration to a point of market readiness.

Impact Solutions’ PolyMet technology uses a chemical process to remove the pigment from coloured rigid plastics without destroying the original plastic polymers.

With the coloured pigment removed, PolyMet-treated plastic then becomes a material that can be reincorporated into the plastic manufacturing process as a high-value recyclate.

By using PolyMet in line with current recycling processes, a new stream of plastic feedstock could be created by reprocessors at high volume and low cost.

Tom Rose, Innovation Manager at Impact Solutions said: “This £0.8 million Innovate grant is welcome recognition of the work we have undertaken so far and an endorsement of the positive impact that PolyMet could have for producers, reprocessors and on the environment.”

James Piper, CEO of Ecosurety, added: “The long-term objectives of Impact Solutions - to develop a technology that can add value to a plastic contaminant - fits perfectly with Ecosurety’s broader vision of driving forward positive change through increased recycling capacity in the UK recycling sector. We are delighted that the huge potential of this collaboration has been recognised by Innovate UK and look forward to working with Impact Solutions over the next two years.”

The Innovate UK grant will see Ecosurety provide consultancy support on the two year PolyMet project, offering market insights from its producer and reprocessor members to ensure the technology is developed in line with industry requirements.