MBA Polymers UK adds 3rd location

Multinational recycling company European Metal Recycling (EMR), headquartered in the U.K., says its plastics recycling arm, MBA Polymers UK, has opened a third U.K. facility at its EMR Duddeston site in central Birmingham. The site will allow manufacturers based in the U.K. to reduce plastic waste from their production lines and “buy back” low-carbon, recycled material, creating a closed-loop supply chain for postindustrial plastics.

EMR formed a joint venture with MBA Polymers in 2008 called MBA Polymers UK, opening a plastics reprocessing facility in Worksop, England, in 2010. Since December 2017, EMR is the sole owner of MBA Polymers recycling facility in Worksop, having signed a long-term technology license and cooperation agreement with MBA Polymers Inc., headquartered in New Jersey, where MBA Polymers licensed its technology and registered brand, according to the MBA Polymers website.

With the new site, EMR says MBA Polymers UK will recycle more plastics from new vehicle manufacturing than any other global recycler. The recycled plastics supplied by MBA Polymers UK are certified by London-based Carbon Trust to be lower in CO2 emissions, with its products offering a reduction of between 75 percent and 86 percent compared with virgin equivalents, according to an independent life cycle assessment (LCA). 

The development of the Duddeston site, which is in a former EMR warehouse, is the latest step in the company’s efforts to create a nationwide network to collect more plastic from waste electronics and electrical equipment (WEEE), automotive shedder residue (ASR) and postindustrial production. 

MBA Polymers UK has a target to produce 100,000 metric tons of recycled plastic annually by 2030, with the Duddeston set to provide between 13,000 and 15,000 metric tons toward this goal. 

The site, which cost roughly $451,500, joins MBA Polymers UK’s original facility in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and a separation line in Dover, and will increase the efficiency of MBA’s processes and reduce unnecessary, carbon-intensive transportation of material, according to EMR. 

Paul Mayhew, general manager at MBA Polymers UK, says, “The arrival of our business—and its innovative recycling processes—to the heart of Birmingham is the next exciting chapter in the MBA Polymers UK story.

“Not only will this facility allow manufacturers to join a closed-loop supply chain to recycle their postproduction plastics, but the location of this new site will also reduce the transportation required to achieve this," he says.

Mayhew adds, “Duddeston is the latest step in our wider strategic goal of creating a nationwide network of recycling facilities for both postconsumer and postindustrial plastics … .”

He says that by partnering with MBA’s parent company, EMR, the companies can provide a “‘one-stop solution’ of a circular supply chain for both plastics and metals here in the U.K.”

Ian Sheppard, managing director at EMR, says, “The plastic recycling technology developed by MBA Polymers UK is a game-changer for any business looking to join the circular economy.  

“I’ve been incredibly proud to see how MBA Polymers UK has continued to grow and expand its network of sites in recent years, and Duddeston is an important milestone, helping more businesses to access MBA Polymers UK’s recycling service and state-of-the-art low carbon materials," he says.

Sheppard adds, “By working together in the years ahead, EMR’s metal recycling and MBA Polymer’s plastic recycling technology is set to transform the way both postindustrial and postconsumer material is collected and utilized.”