Sita to build Europe's first waste-to-diesel plant in UK
09 Nov 2010
Waste management company Sita, owned by French utility Suez Environment, plans to set up Europe's first plastic-to-diesel facility which will turn carrier bags, yoghurt pots and ready meal packaging into fuel for vehicles.
In fact, Sita has drawn up plans for setting up 10 plants in the UK, costing an estimated £50 million that will also create 120 new jobs.
The first plant is expected to be set up in the London area.
Every year around 1.5 million tonnes of mixed plastics do not reach recycling plants in the UK, says Sita.
Thanks to Irish company Cynar's cutting edge technology, Sita's new plant would able to turn around 6,000 tonnes of waste plastic into 4 million litres of plastic-to-diesel fuel every year.
According to experts the fuel produced in the plastic-to-diesel process would cost less to produce and have a lower carbon footprint than standard diesel. The diesel would also be suitable for use in commercial vehicles.
The company says it has already successfully tested pilot plants and its first full-scale plants are expected to be profitable within five years of operation.
