Biffa buys post-consumer plastics facility

Biffa has acquired Scotland’s only post-consumer plastics recycling facility from Green Circle Polymers for £10 million (EUR 11.6 million).

The facility in Grangemouth can handle 50 000 tonnes of plastic a year, including polyethylene and polypropylene. The facility sorts coloured plastic material as well as metal cans. Biffa’s says the deal bolsters its plastics recycling capability and is in line with the company’s strategy to quadruple its plastic recycling capacity by 2030.

The deal comes ahead of a deposit return scheme in Scotland next year, although plans are currently under review by the Scottish government. Biffa thinks the deposit scheme ‘will make it easier for residents to do the right thing and recycle their used bottles and cans, including PET plastic, metal, and glass, ultimately helping to safeguard our environment’.

Meanwhile, revenue fell by £121.1 million as a result of the Covid pandemic, Biffa reveals in its annual financial report. This is attributed to 50% of its customers temporarily closing their operations.

‘I’m extremely proud of the way the entire team responded in what has been a defining year for Biffa,’ says company ceo Michael Topham. ‘We were able to protect our people and continue to provide the essential services on which society depends while taking decisive action to strengthen the finances of the group and continue to invest for the future. It has been a year none of us wants to repeat but certainly one which showed us at our best.’

Results, he adds, were ahead of expectations. ‘We are strongly positioned for the post-pandemic recovery with leadership positions in our core markets, a well-developed investment programme and exciting growth opportunities ahead, leveraging the group’s unique position at the heart of the circular economy.’