Recycling and the circular economy are in Wilton International’s DNA. This could explain why it is the location of choice for many leading energy-intensive businesses and selected by companies using recycled feedstocks to produce goods ranging from chemicals and plastics to fertilisers and sustainable fuels. Perhaps it’s not surprising, therefore, that as Sembcorp Energy UK (the company that owns much of the land at Wilton International and supplies energy and utilities to on-site customers) clears land to create new development plots and opportunities for business, the company incorporates circular economy and sustainability principles into its activities.

UK motorists have seen a move towards a more environmentally friendly way to travel with the introduction of E10 standard petrol in September 2021. The ‘E’ in E10 petrol is ethanol, a form of alcohol which is blended with petrol to create a fuel that helps reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles, compared with standard petrol. E10 became the standard petrol on most British forecourts from September 2021, with Northern Ireland adopting the change in early 2022.

The company has opened a new £1.3m UK headquarters facility close to its biorefinery on the Wilton International site. The move means around 20 staff working at a leased former headquarters in Yarm will join the 80-strong team at the industrial site. Dr Thomas Kirchberg, Deputy Chairman of the supervisory board of CropEnergies cutting the ribbon assisted by Peter Kay, the Ensus UK Operations Director. In the background (left to right) are Jürgen Böttcher, Grant Pearson, Commercial Director of Ensus UK and Dr Georg von Graevenitz.

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.

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.

The circular economy – for sustainability and business efficiency A circular economy recognises that the resources we use are limited. In most cases, we can get more life out of materials by using and re-using them as efficiently as possible, whether that means linking up with other businesses to find a profitable use of by-products and waste, or designing goods that can be made with recycled materials. The idea of a circular economy is closely related to sustainability and being eco-friendly.

Grant Pearson - Commercial Director ENSUS, Mark Kenrick - Chairman of NEPIC and Ben Houchen - Tees Valley Mayor talk about Circular Economy businesses at Wilton International. Wilton International’s Circular Economy - sustainable fuels, sustainable energy, waste to fuels, waste to products, plastics recycling, clean growth. ';" class="embed-container" style="background-image: url('https://res.cloudinary.com/wilton/image/upload/v1579082236/Wilton_11.jpg');background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:cover;"

Wilton International, on Teesside, is an industrial site with a distinctive business model. Sembcorp Energy UK generates power on site to provide resilient, cost-effective supplies for the businesses located there. And one of Sembcorp’s major projects in recent years, undertaken in partnership with Suez Waste Management, provides an example of how the site can deliver large-scale, complex industrial developments quickly and efficiently. It also demonstrates how the site’s logistics infrastructure and connectivity can meet the demanding requirements of businesses in the process sector.