Waste plastic to be transformed into new products as part of pioneering €9.6 million project

Single-use plastic will get a sustainable lease of life as part of a new project led by Manchester Metropolitan University to transform waste into new products and create drive from recycled plastic materials.

The project will use intrusion moulding and additive manufacturing to turn single-use plastic waste back into feedstock.

Manchester Metropolitan will lead the project by utilising its expertise in Industry 4.0, next-generation materials, and 3D printing.

The project, called TRANSFORM-CE, is supported by the Interreg North West Europe Programme as part of the European Regional Development Fund, and aims to divert thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill and create new economic demand for the uptake of recycled plastic materials by businesses.

The project will also see the construction of two purpose-built recycling plants, one in Manchester and one in the Netherlands.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “The reduction of single-use plastic is a key focus area for Greater Manchester, and we are committed to helping support behaviour change and to reduce our consumption and production of single-use plastics.”

“The TRANSFORM-CE project is a fantastic example of where industry experts, businesses, and research bodies can identify real economic opportunities for the revaluing of Greater Manchester’s single-use household plastic, showing that it is possible to create real value from waste through a disruptive and innovative approach.”

Amanda Reid, Programme Lead for the University’s Waste to Resource Innovation Network, said: “By revaluing our existing single-use feedstock and changing consumption and production patterns from a linear to a circular economy, we should be able to make a real difference to the current single-use plastics concern.”

“Whilst remaining a throwaway society we simply do not have the ability to continue developing, but by making this change to a circular economy and by decoupling economic growth from resource consumption we can start to make a change.”