British Polythene Industries (BPI) plc has officially opened a new wash plant at its Rhymney site in South Wales. The £4.5 million investment consolidates the company’s position as the largest recycler of polythene in Europe, raising its reprocessing capacity from 70,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes a year.

The upgraded facility at Rhymney will enable BPI to develop its market for waste from the agricultural and horticultural sector, alongside the company’s other dedicated agricultural waste recycling facility in Dumfries. Currently the farming sector annually generates an estimated 80,000 tonnes of polythene waste, much of which is too contaminated for most other polythene recycling facilities in the UK.

In addition, BPI anticipates that the new wash plant will increase the potential to provide a closed-loop service for major construction firms, providing a route to dispose of sacks from aggregate and cement, before recycling it into new products, such as damp proof membranes.

BPI also aims to grow its closed-loop service for retailers, recovering back-of-store waste, including shrinkfilm, pallet stretchwrap and garment covers, before supplying the same retailer with recycled products like refuse sacks made from their own waste.

Speaking at the official unveiling at Rhymney on 9 March, Gerry McGarry, Business Director, said: “This plant will help to increase our already extensive recycling capabilities, bringing major benefits not only to our business, but also to UK recycling and to the environment as a whole.”

Highlighting the new wash plant’s green credentials, which include energy saving lighting and rainwater harvesting, McGarry added: “BPI has a strong commitment to the highest levels of sustainability and has focused on employing greener products and greener working practices for over 25 years.”