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A Teesside recycling firm has been awarded a £4.4m grant from Innovate UK to build a new job-creating plant.

ReNew ELP, based at the Wilton Centre, near Redcar, is set to commence construction on the new facility in early 2021.

When the plant is operational, it will handle around 80,000 tonnes of waste plastic a year.

A new technology called Cat-HTR (Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor) will be used to recycle plastic items such as films, pots, tubs and trays, which until now have been considered unrecyclable.

The plant will be built on the site of the former Invista Textiles site in Wilton, creating 80 construction jobs.

A further 30 people will initially work at the plant, with more to follow as its operation is stepped up.

Richard Daley, Managing Director of ReNew ELP, said:

“This grant demonstrates we are in line with government policy and its drive towards achieving increased recycling targets in the UK.

“It will increase investor confidence, help innovative technologies such as ours break through and establish the advanced recycling industry in the UK, helping ReNew ELP to emerge as a global leader in plastic recycling.”

Redcar MP Jacob Young added:

“This is fantastic news for our area, for our chemical sector, but crucially for the environment.

“ReNew ELP’s technology shows we can go further in recycling those difficult to recycle plastics and help to tackle waste and prevent landfill.”

The money for ReNew ELP’s plant comes through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging programme.

Credit: TeesBusiness