10,000 TPA PET Recycling Plant Receives £2.6m Government Funding : UKRI Grant for Poseidon Plastics’ Chemical Recycling Plant for PET in Teesside

Redcar, UK based Poseidon Plastics has been awarded a £2.6 million grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the national science and research funding agency, as part of its Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (“SSPP”) challenge.

Using its proprietary technology as a platform, Poseidon said that its mission is to develop a PET plastic recycling infrastructure on an industrial scale.

This grant will be used to commercialise Poseidon’s scientifically proven chemical recycling technology through the construction of its first commercial facility, initially capable of processing 10,000 tonnes per year of waste PET. Construction is planned to start in Teesside in the second quarter of 2021 and will be completed in 2022.

Poseidon said that the facility will redirect the equivalent of over 1 billion bottles per year out of landfills and the environment, to instead be repurposed into consumer packaging and other end-uses by Poseidon’s commercial partners.

The company added that the new plant marks the start of its programme to expand its chemical recycling process across the globe, rapidly expanding its output of recycled plastic feedstock, and reducing the use of PET as a ‘single-use’ plastic worldwide.

By completing the supply chain from waste collection and sorting to feedstock production and PET manufacture through to consumer end-use goods, Poseidon said that with its partners will helpachieve a UK-first, a fully circular economy for PET plastic.

Martin Atkins, CEO of Poseidon Plastics, commented:

“We are delighted that the potential of our technology has been recognised by the government through UK Research and Innovation. This grant, as part of UKRI’s SSPP challenge, represents a significant and tangible commercial step on our way to achieving our ambitious, global-scale recycling targets.”

“With the help of Alpek Polyester and our other partners, the new Teesside plant will evidence the scalability of our advanced recycling process and help us towards our core goal of making an immediate, significant, and sustainable impact on the global issue of plastic waste.”