The UK’s very first carpet recycling facility is under construction – with work now underway at the plant on Northamptonshire’s Chelveston Renewable Energy Innovation Park.
Innovate Recycle, awarded a £2.35m award from the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) Getting Building Fund last year, is set to change the country’s approach to carpet waste and save thousands of tonnes from landfill and incineration.
The facility, set to be the first new build on Chelveston Renewable Energy Park when it opens in January 2022, will help the UK reduce its plastic waste and will be run solely on the wind, solar and hydrogen renewable power produced at the park.
In a deal secured by Wellingborough’s award-winning commercial property agents, Prop-Search, who are sole agents for the landlord Federal Estates, they acted to deliver the bespoke facility of some 82,000 sq. ft for the specialist recycling of carpet at the Innovation Park, which overall provides for up to 32,900 sq m of bespoke buildings to occupier requirements. Benefits include a direct wire power feed from the Renewable Energy Park, not only delivering renewable energy but also at a tariff significantly lower than the national grid retail pricing.
The project is currently the largest combined renewable energy development of its kind in the UK, covering some 750 acres on a former MOD airfield.
Joseph Eccleston, CEO of Innovate Recycle, inherited his family’s carpet business and was immediately struck by the scale of waste.
Joseph said: “There is a need for change and the statistics are staggering. Around 500,000 tonnes of waste carpet are produced in the UK every year, over half of which goes to landfill. Most of the rest is incinerated to produce energy or shredded and used in equine arenas.
“It is a waste of the retrievable polypropylene, environmentally unsustainable and I’m determined to change it. The alternatives to landfill involve us continuing to burn fossil fuel or shredding the carpet into tiny plastic and fibre shreds which are all too easily spread across our landscape”.
Innovate Recycle will recycle and deconstruct polypropylene-based carpets at volume. This process will see the polypropylene converted into fibre and then into pellets, which will be sold on to a range of sectors including the automotive industry. The pellets will be also be used in the production of products including buckets, water butts and watering cans, 3D printing materials, battery cases, and storage bins.
Bob Woods, Chair of the Board of Innovate Recycle added: “Carpets cannot continue to be sent to landfill, incinerated or repurposed into products that damage the environment which is why we are at the forefront of new technology and developing a new circular economy approach for the carpet industry. This new technology and approach will create a unique and sustainable process, one that will produce quality material that can be recycled time and time again.”
Working closely with the UK’s carpet industry to improve the environmental performance of carpet manufacturing, Innovate Recycle will source and recycle waste carpets from across the South East Midlands.
Circular economy and environmental government policy, such as the 30% recycled content in plastic packaging proposals from 2022, means that a quality pelletised recycled material from Innovate Recycle will help the UK to progress to net carbon zero and provide the opportunity for new products and advancement, helping to place Northamptonshire and its ever-developing recycling community as leaders within this growing industry.
Simon Toseland, Director of Prop-Search, said: “As sole agents for the landlord (Federal Estates) in the promotion of Chelveston Renewable Energy & Innovation Park we are delighted to promote this unique, market leading project and are currently in negotiations with Vertical Farm operators.
“The project offers renewable energy generated from both wind & solar, with additional technologies providing for large scale battery storage, hydrogen production and peak lopping. ”
A show reel for the project can be seen at : https://vimeo.com/534397037
Further details are available from Simon Toseland at Prop-Search. 01933 22 33 00 st@prop-search.com
Judith Barker, Director of Programmes and Governance at SEMLEP, said: ”This innovative project is a UK first and is not only tackling the issue of excessive waste and landfill, but is also being run on renewable energy – a truly impressive feat and one that SEMLEP is delighted to be supporting ”