Rebecca Davis, reporter for BBC Radio Wiltshire, took the opportunity to interview a number of people at the event, including Amber Stokes who had only recently left school, was on her first day at her new job. MD Adrian Griffiths talks about the need for investment in the area; Head of Marketing Arthur op den Brouw explains in layman’s terms how the process works, and Philip Young CEO of Forward Swindon  shares his hopes for an emerging innovation sector in the region.

These recordings are from the morning show and were aired on Ben Prater’s breakfast show throughout the week of our launch. We’d like to thank Forward Swindon for their excellent support and the BBC for it’s coverage.

For information about BBC’s morning radio follow this link

In 2010 the borough council pledged a five-year plan to fund inward investment agency Forward Swindon.

This announcement was made during Forward Swindon’s recent audience at Recycling Technologies’ official Technology Centre opening. READ THE ARTICLE

Phil Young together with North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson and MD Adrian Griffiths.

Recycling Technologies, a manufacturer of energy-from-waste equipment capable of generating electricity from mixed plastic waste, has opened their first design, testing and manufacturing plant at the South Marston Industrial Estate in Swindon.

The company was spun out of the University of Warwick in 2011, with assistance from Warwick Ventures Ltd, the university’s research commercialisation company. Now they have just opened their first design, testing and manufacturing plant in Swindon.

There they will manufacture their WarwickFBR, which is designed to produce heat and electricity from plastic – normally destined for landfill – using a process called Pyrolysis.

Unveiling a plaque marking the arrival of Recycling Technologies in Swindon, North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson said: “It’s an honour to be invited to officially open Recycling Technologies’ new Technology and Manufacturing Centre.

“When it comes to recycling, I’m a bit of a zealot, and so it’s great to see that Swindon has been chosen as the location for a new, exciting business, with a cutting edge technology that is generating jobs and helping solve environmental issues. Many of us are now concerned, as we discovered in the press this week that much of our plastic is ending up in landfill and not being used for the purpose that we thought. The waste to energy market is clearly going to be an important part of the UK’s energy supply mix and there is a real opportunity for Swindon to be at the heart of this.”

Today, according to the waste giant Viridor, 85% of plastic in the UK is still landfilled. Recycling Technologies say that its technology can eliminate this loss of a valuable fuel source by turning it instead into electricity and heat.

At the opening of the Recycling Technologies unit on Monday 8 April MD, Adrian Griffiths said: “There are many environmental benefits to this process, including enabling a reduction in the transportation of bailed plastics, a reduction in landfill, and the use of waste to create electricity rather than using virgin fossil fuels. Our system will produce enough fuel to generate up to 3 Megawatts of electricity and a similar amount of heat.

Using a process called “Pyrolysis”, the mixed plastics are transformed into gas, filtered to remove impurities and condensed to output a wax like fuel. This fuel can then be used in a suitable engine and generator in place of – for example – diesel.

The firm currently has five staff and aims to grow to 12 by the end of the year, and employ between 30 to 40 within two years.

Recycling Technologies has a strong team and a wide range of advisors including Peter Jones OBE, previously of waste management specialists Biffa, as well as the backing and research credentials of the Universities of Warwick and Birmingham.
Peter Jones OBE said: “Discarded plastic is no longer just waste destined for landfill. The technology already exists to turn our waste into a substitute for fossil fuels, and now it also becoming more affordable. We are witnessing a sea change in the economic case of this conversion and Recycling Technologies is at the forefront of it. And as an emerging industry it is a great career choice for anyone who’s looking optimistically to the future.”

Recycling Technologies is set to drive forward an innovative solution to both the issues of managing what we do with our waste, as well as providing an alternative to fossil fuels in the short term.

To find out more about the arrival of Recycling Technologies, visit their website at recyclingtechnologies.co.uk.

Recycling Technologies initially approached Forward Swindon, the economic development and regeneration company, to assist with their move to Swindon. See more at www.swindon.uk.com

Recycling Technologies Ltd is rapidly developing its business. New premises, career opportunities and further enhancements of our unique technologies, make good material for a story worth keeping up with. Waste Matters is our insider’s newsletter to keep our customers and friends fully informed on the latest developments.

Our first March 2013 issue launches with a briefing on recent progress. With each edition we’ll also deliver a lead article covering the main themes that directly impact our industry. In Issue 01, MD Adrian Griffiths, gives an insight into the story behind Recycling Technologies.

To read Edition 01, click here

We know that you are busy but like to be well informed, so we’ll keep it brief and regular. We trust you’ll agree, good news from us is good news for the environment.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter

POSITION FILLED A Trainee office Manager is required to assist and ultimately manage the day to day running of the office. This will include the financial and mandatory routines such as invoicing, payroll, fire systems etc. as well as the general administration. 

The successful applicant will be provided with full training in conjunction with New College.

FOR FULL DETAILS, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK

In 2011, Recycling Technologies Ltd was formed as a spin out from the University of Warwick. Now with the help of Birmingham University it is forging ahead with its Combined Heat and Power [CHP] plant fuelled by Mixed Plastic Waste [MPW]. But bringing such novel concepts to fruition involves risk which is not always easy to finance. The company is therefore delighted to have recently overcome this very significant financial hurdle on the road to building the first machine, called the WarwickFBR^TM.

Recovering the energy from MPW is not a new concept, but the plant for doing this is typically large scale and expensive. Due to this scale, getting material to them requires undesirable trucking and then distributing the large quantities of waste heat they produce is often problematic. The Recycling Technologies plant will enable MPW to be consumed on much smaller sites with 1 ton per hour of MPW producing up to 3MWe output and a similar quantity of thermal energy. The financial return on the much smaller investment makes the plant more financially attractive than more traditional mass burning facilities and the reduced transport and improved waste heat recovery options provide environmental benefits too.

Turning such concept into a commercial success requires considerable technological perseverance from a motivated, multi-disciplined team, which requires a significant level of funding. Securing such funding is however where the circular argument can start; significant funding is averse to perceived risk, but risk is always present when it has never been done before. Discovering the requirements of different types of investors and gearing the proposition to the right type was the key.

Established Venture Capital firms like to invest significant sums of money where the technology has been largely proven; we neither needed such levels of funding nor could show the risk profile they desired. The governments grant schemes are good, but it is difficult to build a business plan on the assumption that an application will be successful. We found that the business angel community, buoyed by the governments excellent Enterprise Initiative Scheme [EIS], does a good job in filling this early stage investment gap.

Their benefit is they not only provide cash but also the advice and experience which can make the difference between success and failure. Whilst they understand the potential rewards of investing in novel technology, they also understand that the associated risk must be mitigated. Being able to demonstrate that there is a market for our product, and that the team were up to the technological and financial tasks ahead was critical to our bid being successful and instrumental in approaching the Wroxall Investor Group [WIG].

Peter Jones OBE, one of the UK’s leading waste management experts, joined the team as an advisor giving the company a clear high-level perspective of market trends.

Peter Jones OBE, one of the UK’s leading waste management experts, joining the team as an advisor and the support of a forward thinking customer settled the market question. The technical capability of the team, given its relationships with the Universities was understood, but its credibility with the business angel community was helped significantly by David Ashcroft and Martin Lusby, both members at WIG, joining the team.

With the backing of the WIG, we can now expand the team to accelerate the journey to installing the first WarwickFBR^TM but also put in place the infrastructure we need to attract other potential customers. With 2,500,000t of MPW heading to landfill each year in the UK alone, enough energy to supply the domestic electricity demand of Wales, we hope that the financial return that the plant can provide will result in many of them being installed so making a really positive environmental impact.

Recycling Technologies are offering to sponsor student fees and maintenance for a PhD project within the prestigious School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham. The deadline for this position is 30 April 2013.

PROGRAMME SUMMARY

Supervisor: Dr Gary Leeke

Dept / School / Faculty: School of Chemical Engineering | University of Birmingham

Project Title: Development of Fuels from Mixed Plastic Waste [MPW]

Apply Now: Click here for details on how to apply

Further information: Click here to visit the University of Birmingham page.

Funding Availability: Funded PhD Project (Students Worldwide) This research project is funded by Recycling Technologies Ltd. Applications for this project are welcome from suitably qualified candidates worldwide. Funding may only be available to a limited set of nationalities and you should read the full department and project details for further information.

Application Deadline: 30 April 2013

A pioneering installation to power plastics recycling with a combined heat and power (CHP) engine run on landfill plastics is now underway.

After winning project finance from Wroxall Investors Group (WIG), Recycling Technologies is now installing a 3 MWe engine at a UK plastic recycling facility, Managing Director Adrian Griffiths told COSPP.

See the full article here …