Peel L&P Environmental has released a first look at the innovative Plastic Park planned for its Protos energy and resource hub near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. The first of many planned throughout the UK, it will be a one stop shop for processing different types of plastic waste, avoiding it ending up in landfill, exported overseas or in our oceans.

The 30-acre Plastic Park could see over £165m invested at Protos. It will cluster together a variety of plastic recycling and treatment technologies, each designed to get the most value from plastic waste, including:

Peel L&P Environmental plans to revolutionise the way plastic waste is handled across the UK by creating a series of Plastic Parks, which could help to deal with the 4.9m tonnes of plastic waste that the UK generates each year. What can be recycled will be removed, and any non-recyclable plastic will be used to create electricity, hydrogen or other products.

Richard Barker, Development Director, Peel L&P Environmental said:

“Currently only around a third of the 4.9 million tonnes of plastic that the UK throws away each year is recycled, meaning we urgently need new infrastructure. The pandemic has highlighted how essential this material is to everyday life, but how it is dealt with when it comes to the end of its life needs addressing. 

“Our first Plastic Park will be at our flagship strategic energy and resource hub, Protos. It will bring together a range of technologies each designed to maximise the value we can get from plastic waste. With front end sorting we can make sure that as much plastic as possible is recycled and then use innovative technologies to either create fuels, such as hydrogen, or new products from what’s left. We can take any type of plastic, whether it’s been mixed or separated, so it’s a simple solution for local councils.”

Tim Yeo, Chairman of Powerhouse Energy Group added:

“We are delighted that our DMG technology is to play such a key role in Peel L&P Environmental’s Plastic Park strategy. And we are particularly proud to be part of Protos as one of the key projects driving forward the net zero economy in the North West and part of the region’s plan to become the first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030.

“Being on the Plastic Park will give us easier access to materials from other businesses on site that can then be turned into hydrogen and electricity. We can create value from what is otherwise a waste product. We’re looking forward to opening the plastics to hydrogen facility next year, and welcoming neighbours that share our vision.”

The Plastic Park will be situated on the existing 54-hectare Protos site which brings together large energy users with sources of low-carbon energy, and clusters together resource management technologies. Protos was granted outline planning permission in 2009 which included the provision of a plastic recycling village. Peel L&P Environmental will be bringing forward a planning application for the Plastic Park in the coming months.

Protos is one of the key projects driving forward Net Zero North West – the industry led industrial cluster which is aiming to develop the UK’s first low carbon industrial cluster by 2030. www.netzeronw.co.uk