In a move to enhance its growing recycling business and deal with the increase in plastic waste since China's scrap ban, Beauparc Utilities, Irish owner of Panda and Greenstar, announced that will invest €15 million (£13 million) to build a new plastics recycling facility in the UK.
Eamon Waters, CEO of Beauparc, said: “We are delighted to be making this investment as a move to offer our customers a more sustainable recycling solution for plastic waste. Previously, as a company, we had to heavily rely on China as the only destination for plastics recycling. The new facility, which will slot in with Beauparc’s growing UK presence, will employ approximately 40 people and will process waste plastic films from both Ireland and the UK into new plastic products.”
Waters added: “We are disappointed not to be locating the new facility in Ireland. However, China has moved extremely quickly to close its border to plastics from Europe and we must react quickly to continue to collect our customers recycling bins. Unfortunately, the regulations governing waste management in Ireland mean that we could take more than two years to obtain the necessary approvals to establish a recycling facility here, whereas the UK regulator has ready to go protocols in place to allow us start development on an approved site immediately. Operations are expected to commence in August.”
Beauparc started in County Meath in 1990, and now has 1600 employees at 33 facilities across Britain and Ireland. Its companies include Panda, Greenstar, Panda Power, WSR, A1 skips and Bioverda the renewable gas company.
Panda recycling lorries