Plastic recycling plant to create hundreds of jobs

HUNDREDS of jobs are set to be generated through proposals to construct the UK's first major plastic film recycling plant in Darlington.

- BILL EDGAR

Endolys Ltd has committed to investing as much as £120m in the area following its acquisition of the former Cleveland Bridge premises.

The chemical recycling business will generate up to 120 positions through the deployment of pyrolysis oil production units at the Yarm Road site - a 29-acre industrial location that has lain unused since 2021.

Political figures have welcomed the development for positioning the region at the "forefront of innovation in recycling and clean growth".

Endolys revealed that £60m has been secured for the initial stage of the project, which will involve six units converting 60,000 tonnes of shredded plastic film waste into 40,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil annually. The subsequent stage, requiring a comparable sum, would involve processing an additional 60,000 tonnes of film waste into another 40,000 tonnes of oil.

The entirety of the film waste will be obtained from municipal waste facilities. Pending planning and environmental permissions, the first phase of operations is anticipated to commence at the end of 2026.