Abstract Circles

Circular Economy Fund Recipients

WRAP Cymru has so far awarded 21 capital grants to organisations in Wales, with the total investment – including match-funding – standing at more than £11.9million.

Over three years, this is expected to result in:

  • the incorporation of 62,812 tonnes of additional post-consumer recycled materials in products manufactured in Wales;
  • the prevention of 53,850 tonnes of CO2 emissions;
  • turnover growth in excess of £70.86million;
  • over £1.47million worth of cost-savings; and
  • the creation of at least 103 new jobs.

Please scroll down or click the links below to read more about some of these successful organisations and their plans for growing their businesses and the circular economy in Wales:

Addis Housewares Limited, based in Bridgend, awarded £105,288.59

About Addis Housewares Limited Established in 1780, Addis Housewares designs and manufactures household products. The company offers a wide range of domestic and commercial products with a focus on waste management, cleaning, laundry, food storage, sink side and storage solutions.
Supported Activity As a result of the grant, Addis Housewares will be able to manufacture 35 litre pedal bins for domestic and commercial use from 100% recycled material.
Recyclate to be used Polypropylene (PP)
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of moulds necessary to manufacture the bin components out of 100% recycled PP.

Addis Housewares Limited Case Study

[The application was] really clear; it was a very straightforward application.

 

AST Plastic Containers, based in Wrexham, awarded £375,000

About AST Plastic Containers Established in 2011, AST Plastic Containers manufactures containers for hazardous liquids. Their products range from five to 25 litre containers, currently produced from virgin high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
Supported activity As a result of the grant AST Plastic Containers will be able introduce recycled content into the manufacture of new containers and implement a closed loop system where used containers will be prepared for re-use and re-manufacture. This new process will allow AST Plastic Containers to create three new permanent FTE jobs.
Recyclate to be used High-density polyethylene (HDPE).
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a neutralization machine, a wet granulator, centrifuge, recycling extruder, wash line, and a water recovery unit.

We couldn't produce enough materials for our customers, so this grant has been all about scaling up our operations and investing in new machinery.

 

AWD Group Ltd, based in Port Talbot, awarded £201,524.00

About AWD Group Ltd

AWD specialises in the supply of quality reprocessed plastic feedstocks manufactured from waste collected and recycled from construction, commercial and municipal waste sources.

Having initially established the company to recycle uPVC from the construction sector, AWD has expanded its services to include glass and mixed rigid plastic recycling.  The company now operates the largest rigid plastic recycling facility in the south of the UK.  The facility, based in Port Talbot and known as the Cylch, also recycles mixed rigid plastics for many of Wales’ Local Authorities and is responsible for the delivery of a significant proportion of Wales’ public sector plastic recycling targets.

AWD recycles around 10,000 tonnes per annum of Welsh wastes, including 2,520 tonnes of mixed rigid plastics and 2,900 tonnes of uPVC.

Supported activity

AWD has identified the opportunity to produce high quality granulate and plastic pellet raw materials for supply to Welsh manufacturers. Key to producing these products is a supply of high purity plastic feedstock and the purchase of this equipment that will enable the separation and refining of these materials, and produce a high quality recyclate through the use of flotation and washing technology, and generate high quality pellet/granulate recyclate for use in industry.

Recyclate to be used HDPE / PP
Capital investment in

Washing and reprocessing equipment for plastic material refinement.

 

Capital Valley Plastics, based in Cwmavon, awarded £116,039.99

About Capital Valley Plastics Established in 1987, Capital Valley Plastics manufacturers polythene products, including gas barriers, damp proof membrane and damp proof course for the construction industry.
Supported activity As a result of the grant, Capital Valley Plastics will manufacture 100% recycled damp proof membrane and damp proof course from plastic pellet produced from recycled film which would otherwise go to waste.
Recyclate to be used Low density polyethylene (LDPE) pellet produced from jazz coloured films.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase and installation of a blown film extrusion machine.

Watch this short video of Capital Valley Plastics’ Managing Director, Roger Phillips, discussing their grant.

 

Chiltern PTP Ltd, based in Rhymney, awarded £60,457

About Chiltern Chiltern PTP Ltd, incorporated in 2014 is a plastics extrusion company manufacturing faux wood predominantly used for external door components. 
Supported Activity As a result of the grant, Chiltern PTP will be able to increase capacity by 37.5% and raise the recycled content by up to 100%, in 85% of their products over the next 2 years. The grant will also support the creation of two new permanent FTE jobs.
Recyclate to be used Recycled general purpose polystyrene (GPPS) and high impact polystyrene.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase and instillation of two new extruders and four caterpillar haul-offs.

 

Cardiff Cycle Workshop based in Cardiff, awarded £28,703.76

About Cardiff Cycle Workshop Established in 2007, Cardiff Cycle Workshop, previously known as Cycle Training Wales is a not-for-profit social enterprise seeking to remove barriers that prevent people cycling. Having opened the a Workshop in 2010, Cardiff Cycle Workshop have refurbished and sold over 4,000 bikes and operate a repair service to the public.
Supported Activity As a result of the grant, Cardiff Cycle Workshop will be able to increase their refurbishment of used bicycles and provide greater access to affordable bikes to the public. This grant will allow for the creation of one new permanent FTE job.
Recyclate to be used Used bicycles.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the installation of a mezzanine to increase workshop space and storage, along with new tool boards, tool benches, bike stands, and a parts washer.

Cardiff Cycle Workshop Case Study

 

E.L.I.T.E Supported Employment Agency Ltd, based in Merthyr Tydfil, awarded £72,600.00

About E.L.I.T.E

E.L.I.T.E Supported Employment Agency (SEA) is a company established to enable individuals with disabilities or those experiencing disadvantage to access, obtain and maintain paid employment through the provision of tailored one to one training and support.

Elite paper solutions is wholly owned by Elite SEA and was created in 2015 to provide a Welsh solution for the provision of collecting and destructing confidential waste, together with archive storage, and document scanning.

Supported Activity

The company has recently started to collect and process cardboard from public sector organisations, and having built a good relationship with some private clients which manufacture equestrian products, intend to launch a new product which will make use of the cardboard collected. Elite will process the cardboard and sell the material as animal bedding, which will eliminate the need to sell the unprocessed cardboard, and generate additional revenue.

ECO Animal bedding is an environmental friendly material, using mixed corrugated cardboard cut finely into small strips, creating a unique design which helps increase absorbency whilst maintaining a warm insulated barrier. The ECO bedding will not just serve equestrian animals, but also suitable for eg pigs, rats, mice, ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, chinchilla, degus, gerbils, and African pygmy hedgehogs.

Recyclate to be used Cardboard
Capital investment in Specialist machinery that will process and bale the bedding, required site modifications and equipment such as sorting tables, cages and heating equipment.

 

Frontier Plastics Ltd, now part of the wider Vernacare Group based in Blackwood, awarded £394,467

About Frontier Plastics Ltd Established in 1966, Frontier Plastics Ltd manufactures a wide range of hygiene and surgical products for the healthcare sector.
Supported Activity As a result of the grant, Frontier Plastics Ltd will be able to introduce up to 20% recycled content into sharps containers and manufacture their eXchange range of products from 100% recycled material. The grant will also allow for the creation of two new permanent FTE jobs.
Recyclate to be used Polypropylene (PP)
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a materials handling system and test equipment.

We’ve found WRAP extremely easy to deal with, especially during these troubled times.

GJD Services Ltd, based in Glamorgan, awarded £201,000.00

About GJD Services 

GJD Services specialise in providing an innovative and established approach to aircraft asset management and end of life services.

The organisation is a highly experienced 'part-out' and maintenance company dealing in product life cycle management, and was the first European aircraft maintenance and disposal organisation authorised under both UK CAA and EASA Part-145 and EU/UK Environment Agency. GJD services currently remove all aircraft components from the airframe that are not at 'end of life' and return them to service.  All other airframe materials (98% by weight) are recycled through the normal supply chain. The same process is currently not used for the aircraft engines, so engines with no serviceable life left go to general scrap. However, they contain a number of components that can be life extended and returned to service.

Supported activity The WRAP/WG Circular Economy Fund will enable GJD to invest in vital equipment which will  increase their capacity of aeronautical engine recycling/reprocessing services. 
Recyclate to be used Metallic parts re-used or otherwise recycled
Capital investment in

Equipment that comprises of tool items common to Aeronautical engine maintenance so that they can be disassembled and repaired to extract as much 'value' as possible in the re-use of items, and the separation/re-use of rare and precious earth materials.

 

Heathpak, based in Crumlin, awarded £608,621

About Heathpak Established in 1999, Heathpak manufactures and designs solidboard packaging for use in the meat, fish, horticultural, and industrial markets.
Supported activity As a result of the grant Heathpak will more than double their production of products with 80-100% recycled content and introduce an innovative plant-based liner for their solidboard packaging, replacing the current plastic-based liner. This increase in production will allow Heathpak to create six new permanent FTE jobs.
Recyclate to be used Recycled paper from waste corrugated containers.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase for a new die cutting machine and robotic feeders for existing die cutting and folder gluer machines.

Heathpak case study

 

JC Moulding, based in Brynmawr, awarded £34,357.80

About JC Moulding Established in 2014, JC Moulding manufactures injection moulding products. Material feedstock includes polypropylene (PP) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
Supported activity As a result of the grant, JC Moulding will increase the amount of recycled content in their products from 5% to over 25%. They will also be able to produce larger products and increase their production capacity.
Recyclate to be used Recycled PP and ABS plastics.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a higher-specification injection moulding machine, mould tooling and building work for storing the additional materials.

JC Moulding Case Study

 

Montgomery Waters, based in Churchstoke, awarded £375,000

About Montgomery Waters Established in 1996, Montgomery Waters manufactures bottled spring, mineral, and flavoured waters for major UK retail, wholesale, and food service customers.
Supported activity As a result of this grant, Montgomery Waters will be able to use 100% recycled content in their 5 litre bottles and 50% recycled content in their shrink film. This support will safeguard seven jobs and incorporate hundreds of tonnes of additional recycled content into their manufacturing processes.
Recyclate to be used Recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene (PE) shrink film.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a new 5 litre bottle production line.

 

 

Pets Choice, based in Cardiff, awarded £164,774

About Pets Choice Established in 1987, Pets Choice is a global supplier of pet and animal goods, including food, healthcare, and hygiene products.
Supported activity As a result of this grant, Pets Choice will be able to manufacture cat litter using 100% recycled materials. The usage of recycled concrete dust and gypsum waste is novel to the UK and will prevent thousands of tonnes of this waste from entering landfill. This support will also allow for the safeguarding of current jobs at the Cardiff production site, along with the creation of 21 additional FTE jobs.
Recyclate to be used Recycled concrete dust, gypsum, mineral/clay dust, and recycled paper bags.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a bagging machine, palletiser system, a pellet system, and an upgrade to a compressor system.

 

Re-worked Limited (trading as Smile Plastics), based in Swansea, awarded £308,986.03

About Re-worked Ltd Established in 2010, Smile Plastics produces 100% recycled, decorative thermoplastic panels for use by retail, interior design and architecture businesses.
Supported activity The aim of this project is to use additional recyclable plastics to manufacture increase quantities of decorative panels used in commercial interiors and customised materials.
Recyclate to be used PETG and HIPS recyclate 
Capital investment in The grant support will enable the Recipient to purchase an additional panel production line to meet an increase in demand and build capacity for the future.

 

Radnor Hills Mineral Water Company Ltd, based in Powys, awarded £170,851.50

About Radnor Hills

Radnor Hills is a producer of mineral waters and soft drinks, based in Mid Wales. Established in 1990 and now after over 30 years since the first bottle was poured, it supplies over 250 UK wholesalers and some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets.

With a passion for making the simplest of things taste great, Radnor Hills have created a wide range of products in various packaging formats including plastic, glass, TETRA Pak cartons and cans, all filled with their very own Welsh spring water, fruit juices, flavoured waters, functional waters, infused waters, healthy children’s drinks and premium adult presses.

Supported activity

The project was to part finance a new PET plastic bottle production line that would enable the company to produce bottles manufactured from recycled plastics (rPET) for a new Eco based range.

Recyclate to be used rPET
Capital investment in The grant enabled Radnor Hills to invest in a new rPet producion line  that will produce the bottles to client specification in terms of size and recycled plastic requirements. This will enable Radnor Hills to increase the amount of bottles containing recycled plastics by a minimum of 8 million per annum, utilising 100t+ of recycled plastics from a Wales based manufacturer.

 

Sarpak, based in Port Talbot, awarded £161,282.37

About Sarpak Established in 2002, Sarpak produces a range of plastic packaging solutions to protect products from damage. These are used by businesses in the furniture, pharmaceutical and food manufacturing sectors.
Supported activity As a result of the grant, Sarpak will incorporate 30% recycled content into a high-quality, three-layer film previously manufactured from virgin plastics.  The central layer will be made from recycled plastics, enabling Sarpak to reduce their environmental footprint without compromising the quality or recyclability of their product.
Recyclate to be used High density polyethylene (HDPE) and low density polyethylene (LDPE).
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase and installation of a three-layer blown film coextrusion machine.

Watch this short video of Sarpak director, Lee Shackson, discussing their grant.

 

Smile Plastics, based in Swansea, awarded £149,972.05

About Smile Plastics Established in 2010, Smile Plastics produces 100% recycled, decorative thermoplastic panels for use by retail, interior design and architecture businesses.
Supported activity Smile Plastics will scale up production of high-quality products at their site in Swansea, increase efficiency and reduce energy use as a result of the grant.
Recyclate to be used High-density polyethylene (HDPE), high impact polystyrene sheet (HIPS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund a highly specialised, improved semi-automatic material conversion equipment, associated equipment and factory modifications.

We can now make more products in an even more environmentally friendly manner.

 

Synergy Plastics Ltd based in Newport, awarded £98,858.16

About Synergy Plastics Established in 1997 by brothers’ John, Michael and Nigel Batt, Synergy Plastics is a family run business specialising in the manufacture of injection moulded plastic products. 

The company serves a number of market sectors, including housewares and medical devices, and counts several large multi‐national customers among its customer base.
The majority of the company’s products are manufactured from virgin plastics, although in recent years the company has increased its use of recycled content in response to demand from customers.  At present the company uses around 680 tonnes of recycled Polypropylene (PP) per annum.

Supported activity The aim of this Project is to produce three new white label products from 100% recycled content, through the purchase of an additional injection moulding machine resulting in an additional 1,193.7 tonnes of recycled content used in products manufactured by Synergy Plastics Limited.
Recyclate to be used Polypropylene 
Capital investment in

The grant support will enable the Recipient to purchase capital equipment.

 

Techlan, based in Swansea, awarded £40,061.83

About Techlan Established in 2009, Techlan manufacturers silicone release paper which is used across a range of sectors, from packaging manufacturers to the aerospace industry.
Supported activity The grant will help Techlan to meet growing demand for packaging used to despatch online sales purchases to customers. This is a new product made from 100% recycled content, used to protect adhesive surfaces on the packaging.
Recyclate to be used Recycled paper.
Capital investment in The grant will part-fund the purchase of a conversion machine, associated equipment and factory modifications to produce the new product.

Techlan case study

 

Techlan, based in Swansea, awarded £140,370

About Techlan Established in 2009, Techlan manufacturers silicone release paper which is used across a range of sectors, from packaging manufacturers to the aerospace industry.
Supported activity The grant will help Techlan to take on additional premises and purchase new equipment to increase production capacity and improve yield. This will result in additional storage and capacity to satisfy increasing demand and development of alternative sources of supply.
Recyclate to be used Recycled paper.
Capital investment in The grant will support the company to move to new premises and purchase and install a new cleaning line and rewinding machinery for two new production lines.

 

Tilon CG Ltd, based in Ebbw Vale, awarded £300,000,00

About Tilon 

Tilon C G Ltd manufactures high-performance composite panels. The company’s primary products are environmental noise barriers and scaffold boards manufactured from a recycled High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)/Polypropylene (PP) blend and recycled glass fibre. In addition to scaffold boards, the company also supplies the general construction trade with industrial barriers and partitioning, and decking for commercial applications.

Supported activity

The aim of this project is to use additional recycled plastic and additional recycled glass fibre by manufacturing environmental noise barriers and scaffold boards manufactured from recycled High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and recycled glass fibre.

Recyclate to be used High Density Polyethylene
Capital investment in

The grant support will enable the Recipient to purchase a second larger capacity manufacturing line, comprising an extruder, die and downstream processing system to operate alongside its existing manufacturing line to manufacture an additional 2,288 tonnes of extruded product.

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