Wales-based recycled plastic wood products firm Plastecowood manufactures carbon-negative products from plastic items extracted from the UK’s waste stream. It is now set for significant expansion due to funding – to the tune of £1.3m – from Santander UK.
Plastecowood
Plastecowood receives funding boon
One of Plastecowood's 'living walls'
The funding supports Plastecowood’s purchase of two additional processing lines, which will triple its output of Smartawood – a carbon-negative alternative to timber. Plastecowood’s current annual turnover just exceeds £2m, with the business now targeting an increase to between £6m and £10m in the next few years as a result of the investments.
Using mixed recycled plastic packaging waste that is often rejected by other businesses, due contamination or an inability to recycle it, Plastecowood estimates that each tonne of Smartawood manufactured uses up more than 25,000 pieces of plastic packaging waste and the equivalent of 2.5 trees from being felled. The products, ranging from outdoor furniture to shipping crates and stillages, can themselves be recycled again by Plastecowood.
The business is looking to expand its product line with the development of a ‘living wall’, a vertical fence or partition with in-built space to grow plants, which it is adapting for use in three formats:
- A sound barrier to reduce noise, trap air pollution and offer space to grow plants for use in transport infrastructure;
- A vertical garden that doubles as a wall, fence or partition for small gardens; and
- Bespoke design living outdoor classrooms and performance areas that include stages, sheltered seating and social areas.
Plastecowood was the 2021 winner of the Santander X Global Environmental Challenge, which is designed to support entrepreneurs committed to the environment and with innovative ideas to build a more sustainable future. Last year, it also attended the UN COP26 Climate Conference, exhibiting a sculpture of a fire-ravaged forest created from Smartawood by UK artist Mark Weighton.
Plastecowood Technical Director Henning von Spreckelsen said: “Santander UK has demonstrated belief in Plastecowood, from the very first contact through to our current corporate facility. The loan facility is transformational and allows us to work toward our long-term vision of building a Smartawood factory outside every major city in the world. Every city globally shares the challenges of responsibly managing mixed plastic packaging waste and finding a carbon-negative alternative – such as Smartawood – to products made from steel, wood and concrete, allowing our existing living forests to continue absorbing carbon dioxide.”