What does Biffa Polymers do here at Wilton International? “It’s a 24⁄7 operation at Wilton. 140 people are employed at the fully automated site and there’s huge demand for our products,” Chris explains. “The Wilton facility re-processes household and industrial waste plastics in 5 different processing streams, each doing something slightly different. The plastics we recycle here are called Polyolefins - polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Re-processing them means they can be re-used, saving waste and reducing the need for production of new plastic feedstocks.

The pressure on industry is coming from several directions. Consumers, inspired by media coverage including the BBC’s Blue Planet series, are demanding action on marine and other plastic waste. Government legislation and targets, including the UK’s 2050 goal for net zero carbon, mean that reducing waste and emissions is imperative. And now shareholders are adding to the pressure, by demanding increasingly robust sustainability and decarbonisation strategies from the businesses they invest in.

Teesside’s Winning Freeport Bid Covering more than 4,500 acres of land, the equivalent of 2,250 football pitches, Teesside’s will be the largest of the UK’s 8 new Freeport zones. And the successful bid provides an excellent example of what can be achieved when Teesside’s industrial cluster, with public and private sector partners including local authorities and ports, work together. The Freeport zone includes ten distinct areas on or close to the River Tees, with forecasts estimating the attraction of more than 18,000 jobs to the area over five years, and a £3.

Whether it’s woody residues or non-edible agricultural crop residues, the chances are that cleantech innovators Nova Pangaea can turn your forestry and agriculture residues into something as valuable as it is environmentally friendly. “We process residue biomass from agricultural or forestry customers,” explains Neil Guilder, Nova Pangaea’s CFO. “That gives us valuable sugars and biocarbons such as biochar and activated carbon. The sugars can be turned into bioethanol, biopolymers and biochemicals, while the biochar can be used for soil enhancers, sustainable solid fuels, or be further processed to activated carbon, used for air and water filtration and green steel.