Recycling Technologies Ltd (Swindon)
Waste materials used: all waste plastics including black plastic, plastic wrappers, plastic bags, crisp packets and yoghurt pots (even with food residue present).
Method: Pyrolysis (where waste plastics are heated without oxygen and reduced down to their constituent molecules of oils and waxes, ready to be processed back into useful products, including plastics, lubricants or indeed fuels).
https://recyclingtechnologies.co.uk/
MacRebur: the Plastic Road Company
Waste materials used: a mix of waste plastics.
Method: The waste plastics are ground into pellets and added to traditional road materials asphalt and bitumen. In addition to reducing the cost of road surface materials, the roads themselves last longer. Road surfaces have been created for lorry parks, airport runways and council roads.
https://www.macrebur.com/
Alternatives to Plastics
Corn Starch Biocompostables
Method: Corn starch is converted into a polymer to produce materials that have a plastic-like feel (sometimes called PLA plastics) and are moulded in the same way as plastics.
Disposal: PLA plastics cannot be recycled in landfill (which are created with an impervious layer below and above to prevent biodegrading and avoid production of methane) or composting in local authority green waste methods as they degrade slowly. (PLA plastics must be kept separate from the usual waste recycling streams to avoid contaminating those streams.) They may break down in three months in an industrial composting facility heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and fed a steady diet of digestive microbes.
Environmental impact: Typically made from genetically modified corn and may use land that could be used for food crops.
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