Plastic bottle recycler, Closed Loop Recycling, has been awarded with a new five-year contract to process PET and HDPE bottles from Veolia’s new plastic sorting facility.

The contract, which could reportedly see Closed Loop process over 100,000 tonnes of PET and HDPE bottles, follows on from Veolia’s ‘strategic and long-term review of its supply chain’ and will see plastic bottles sorted at its new £45 million plastic sorting facility at Rainham in Essex forwarded on to Closed Loop’s plant in Dagenham, Essex, for processing.

Gavin Graveson, Veolia Environmental Services’ Executive Director, Treatment, announced the partnership today (14 November), saying: “Working in partnership with Closed Loop we have supported the domestic plastic recycling market and the new contract will build on that success. Plastic collection, sorting and recycling is now firmly embedded in the UK’s waste strategy, as a direct result of the willingness of both companies to invest in the sector.”

Chris Dow, CEO of Closed Loop Recycling, added: "We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Veolia since our plant’s inception and they are already our largest supplier of bottles. We are delighted that our two companies have been able to confirm this new agreement which will help take Closed Loop Recycling to new heights.

“The five-year contract shows a new stage in the development of the plastic recycling industry, with more demand than ever for high quality, domestically processed rPET and rHDPE here in the UK for leading brands such as M&S and Britvic.”

Closed Loop Recycling’s Dagenham plant has been operating since December 2008 and currently reprocesses more than 4 million plastic bottles per day. Closed Loop was also reportedly the first company in the world to recycle both PET and HDPE plastic bottles into food-grade material for new food and drink packaging.