AN EPS recycling specialist is keen to work with more packaging companies to boost Scotland’s ambitious environmental aspirations.
Volker Gruppe operates a bespoke EPS recycling facility in Chryston, North Lanarkshire. The business provides an end-to-end service, collecting waste materials from a range of clients across the country and turning it into high quality products.
Such has been the demand that the company is ramping up recruitment at the site and investing in new equipment.
Operations manager John Rennie told Packaging Scotland that he’s keen to grow the discussion around polystyrene and have even more organisations take advantage of the available waste solutions.
“We’ve been on this site near on five years,” John said. “Prior to that we were in East Kilbride. Volker, before BEWI took us over, was historically a trading and brokering business. We were trading baled material, compacted polystyrene, and establishing markets on the continent.
“We looked at getting the scrap part of it. We’ve got the end market, we’ve got the end user, and there’s certainly demand for it. Although polystyrene is an easy material to recycle, it is quite specific.”
After relocating to Chryston and investing in new equipment and a state-of-the-art production line, business started taking off in a big way as more customers came on board.
John revealed that the recycling process can be tailored for each client to suit their output.
“We don’t just want to recycle material because it’s there and not being used,” John explained. “In a product form, it’s got greater value than being in a briquette. I encourage people to reuse their polystyrene where possible.
“We have a core collective of companies that now just rely on us to recycle their EPS, and that’s a great place to be. They utilise our facility to tick their environmental credentials. We want a lot more of that, but it’s about awareness of what polystyrene is; how versatile and easy it is to recycle.
“The difficulty that many see in the processes involved is the finding of the material that’s suitable for recycling (and) the logistics of that material that’s suitable for transit. You work out that bit and then the handling of it. It has a labour-intensive factor to it, but once we get it into the production hall, the production facility takes care of it to produce the products.”
At present, there is a core staff of four working at the facility, but this is set to grow to six, with plans in the pipeline to increase this further still. Because of the volume of material being processed, the company is putting on a second shift.
“We’re just one cog of a massive mechanism, but we play an integral part,” John said. “We’re in Scotland, which is fish box country. We’re still a massive exporter of fish and the processing of that. They all require stringent packaging and EPS fits the bill. There are alternatives on the market but I speak to processors, filleters and wholesalers day in and day out, and they can’t knock it. It travels well, it’s light, it’s a great insulator. Some of these boxes have been used for export as far as Dubai. EPS certainly has a firm place in the transit of food products.
“From a logistical point of view, it has its place and is something that’s widely, comfortably used. EPS boxes are second nature to anyone in the fish processing game. There are other developments going on with other types of packaging but we’ve not seen anything yet that stands the test of time. It does the job and our intake of material proves that.
“We’re collecting material from all over Scotland, whether in briquetted form or a scrap box form. There’s a steady supply of it. Even still, there’s an untapped (element) where people aren’t too familiar on how the process works. This is why we’re constantly trying to push the discussion on how EPS can be recycled.
“Something I’m passionate about is education. I’m a firm believer that every day’s a school day. I’ve visited many a client and made them aware (of the possibilities of polystyrene recycling). Within a short period of time they now have another tangible direct route for their recovery and recycling.”
Volker Gruppe is a member of the British Plastics Federation and is keen to speak to local authorities and government agencies about the role EPS recycling can play in supporting policies like Scotland’s ban on single-use plastics. John highlighted a recent project to turn unwanted vending cups into briquettes.
“There is a lot more than can be done,” John stated. “We’re a commercial operation. We have to produce. We’re not out there wanting people to generate waste for the sake of volume. We set this facility up and run this site in such a way that, to get the untapped material and capitalise on what we’re already doing, join all the bits up, we would like the wider discussion to involve the likes of government level.
“A lot of recycling companies have bolted on EPS recycling to their portfolio. That’s great and has its place. But we’re very specific. We’re the largest in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK as being a specific EPS recycler and the range of products that we do.”
Turning his attention to the packaging industry specifically, John highlighted a desire to do more work around recovering materials from manufacturers and raising the awareness that there is somewhere in Scotland providing an end-to-end recycling service.
“All the equipment we have in here, the layout, the whole setup of the site, is all bespoke for that purpose. Yes, we are a commercial entity and have to produce. At the same time, we are providing a service and, to some, it’s fundamental in terms of their waste output and reduction.”
