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Plastic bottles recycled in the North East will be used to create new household products in a move being hailed as major boost to the ‘circular economy’.

Recycling and waste management firm Biffa has signed a deal with packaging company Alpla to ensure that more recycled plastic from the UK is used in the manufacturing of UK homecare products.

The deal will see plastic pellets from Biffa’s recycling facility in Seaham, County Durham, supplied to Alpla for use in household items such as washing up bottles, detergent and cleaning sprays.

Biffa said the move – which follows the opening of the £27m recycling plant in Seaham last year – would give some plastics a potentially infinite lifespan as they can continually recycled and re-used in packaging.

The Seaham plant can process the equivalent of 1.3bn plastic bottles each year.

Chris Hanlon, commercial director at Biffa Polymers, said:

“Biffa is a true pioneer in closed-loop recycling, turning waste plastic into materials which are a substitute for virgin plastic.

“Our partnership with Alpla will contribute to our strategic ambition of a more sustainable future built around a circular economy and we’re looking forward to continuing to work with the team to achieve this.”

Tasos Pourloukakis, UK country managing Director at Alpla Group said:

“The collaboration with Biffa goes along with our aim to push worldwide closed-loop systems on a local level. This approach guarantees the highest possible collection rates, recyclability, and quality of the materials.

“It also reduces the logistical effort related to our packaging solutions.

“It helps us to achieve the overall objective of reducing CO2 emissions and actively bringing the circular economy forward.”

Credit: Business Live