Another Plastic Recycling Plant Closes in the United Kingdom (UK)

Zhuansu Shijie has learned that Vanden Recycling recently confirmed it will close its plastic processing plant in Whittlesey, Peterborough later this year. The plant primarily processes post-industrial plastics (including PET, PP, and HDPE) and is expected to cease operations by the end of October.

Kevin Thompson, the General Manager, stated that this decision was made after "careful consideration," noting that the Whitley West factory has always been a small yet important part of the company's operations. However, the scale of this factory is unable to meet the needs of the company's long-term goals.

Thompson added, "By reallocating resources into our core trading business, we can focus on areas with the greatest growth potential and provide better services to our core customers."

The sale of the factory and its equipment is handled by Benchmark International.

Severe operating environment

Vanden Recycling pointed out that the rigid plastic recycling industry is facing a challenging operating environment: energy, transportation, and labor costs are rising simultaneously, while the end markets are weak.

The company stated that due to the decline in the cost of virgin plastics and the regulatory environment's failure to incentivize the use of recycled materials, the price of recycled polymers remains low, further exacerbating the economic pressure on the plant's operations.

The company has gradually reduced the number of employees at the Whitley factory and stated that it is working with suppliers to ensure alternative arrangements for raw material processing.

Thompson stated, "We remain committed to providing high-quality services through our global trade operations and strengthening our partnerships."

The plastic industry is under pressure.

Vanden Recycling made this decision at a time when the plastic recycling market in the UK and Europe is under widespread pressure.

The Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) warned on August 27 that the industry is facing a "near collapse" situation, highlighting that declining demand, rising costs, and regulatory pressures are continuously forcing recycling plants to shut down.

Several recycling plants have already closed in the UK.

After closing the Avonmouth plant in December 2024, Viridor also shut down the Rochester plastic recycling plant earlier this summer.

In July, Biffa also confirmed the closure of its Sunderland facility, which had an annual processing capacity of 39,000 tonnes of HDPE and PP.

Since August, the overall recycling market has shown sluggish performance, with both trading volume and prices experiencing a seasonal downward trend, further exacerbated by factory closures.

Due to the sufficient supply of raw materials, the prices of recycled materials for certain grades have softened, with PET being particularly noticeable — summer is usually a period of weak demand for PET.

Across Europe, recyclers are also facing the issue of low prices for virgin polymers, which further squeezes profit margins.