March 29, 2023 Project Turns Awkward Waste into Building Applications

Transforming the most complex waste streams back into high-value, high-performance products is now possible and happening.

A new collaborative demonstration initiative – one in a series of  supply chain projects funded by the Welsh Government and led by WRAP Cymru – is poised to showcase how plastic materials with no existing end-market can be turned into valuable composites destined for a number of high-performance building applications. The supply chain projects aim to drive market confidence in using post-consumer recycled materials in products already on the market by demonstrating the economic and environmental benefits of doing so.

Scaling up from an earlier project that focused on a range of hard-to-recycle materials such as crisp packs and plastic food pouches that were turned into outdoor furniture, this new initiative will centre on complex polymeric materials taken from cars through to large domestic appliances as well as awkward post-consumer packaging such as laminated plastic-coated paper board, single-use cups and films.

Sustaintech experts Nextek will lead this multi-participant project comprised of three organisations; Fiberight whose process recovers materials from mixed waste including paper fibres and an abundance of currently un-recycled film, MBA Polymers, that recycle plastics recovered from ASR (automotive shredder residue) and end of life durable goods, producing (per annum) approximately 20,000 MT of high quality single polymer compounds. During the process, MBA also generates a total of 9,700 MT of mixed material which currently only goes to recovery and landfill. The third organisation is the UK’s leading composite decking manufacturer, Ecodek that will extrude Nextek’s resulting high-tech composites into high-performance building materials.

This initiative takes Nextek’s expertise in the compounding and recycling of paper-plastic composites to a whole new level as it draws from the most difficult elements of our waste stream to produce unique, durable, waterproof and strong recycled materials. The resulting compound can be used for numerous high-performance product applications that aim to reduce our reliance on imported timber whilst also reducing landfill and high CO2 activities such as Waste to Energy. COPY END

About Nextek Ltd
Nextek is a global sustainability and technology consultancy that offers strategic advice to regional and multi-national organisations and recycling companies. Launched in 2004, Nextek researches and develops innovative strategies and processes within the recycling ecosystem – from designing recycling plants to developing ground-breaking projects for governments and major organisations.

For further information please contact:
janinewood@nexteklimited.com – +44(0)7831 582 659

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