SITA UK, a waste and recycling company, is planning ten new plants to convert plastic waste into diesel fuel.
The company, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, has signed a deal with conversion technology specialists, Cynar Plc, to build the plants with the first one planned in London by the end of 2011.
Cynar's technology allows end of life plastic (ELP) to be cracked and converted directly into diesel fuel instead of being taken to landfill sites. Each plant will have the capacity to handle around 6.000 tonnes of mixed waste plastics every year, which will yield some four million litres of specification diesel.
SITA has contracts with local authorities across the UK to collect and process waste and its parent company, Suez, is planning to build between two and three new sites each year to a maximum of 10.
The fuel will, according to Cynar, cost less to produce, have a lower carbon footprint, but the same qualities as conventional diesel and will be sold commercially without further refining.