Recycling plant to close amid 'challenging' market

Viridor's recycling plant in Avonmouth will close at the end of the year

A recycling plant which employees 120 people is set to close at the end of the year.

Waste management company Viridor - which owns the site - announced that the Resource Recovery Centre in Avonmouth, near Bristol, is closing due to low recycling rates.

In a statement, the company said its mechanical recycling operations have been "negatively impacted by persistently and increasingly challenging market conditions". The energy recovery facility is not affected by the closure.

Consultation with those employed at Avonmouth is under way and redeployment opportunities across the business are being considered, a spokesperson from Viridor said.

The plant recycles 80,000 tonnes of plastic every year. It opened in March 2022.

However, the global virgin polymer market is suffering from overcapacity due to significant growth in production in lower-cost markets outside of Europe, a spokesperson from the company said.

Many companies have switched to using alternative materials, which has resulted in a significantly reduced price for recycled plastics.

Additionally, imported recycled plastics from low-cost countries have increasingly been brought to the European market.

Elsewhere in the UK, other plastic recycling operators have closed or ceased operations in Europe.