Diesel from end of life plastics will be made in London this year

Sita says it will build 10 plants across the UK to convert end of life plastic into diesel fuel. The company will commission the first plant in London this year.

Combined, the 10 proposed plants will convert 60,000 tonnes of mixed waste plastic per year to produce four million litres of diesel. The company proposes to build two to three conversion plants per year.

“The process we are using involves shredding or chipping the plastic, which is pre-melted,” says Stuart Haywood-Higham, Sita’s technical director. “We then apply a pyrolys process, which allows us to re-crack the waste into liquid.”

“This is a financially viable project and we expect to make some profit, even though the focus of the initiative was to provide a tangible solution for customers,” he says.

UK-based Cynar specialises in converting mixed waste plastics into synthetic fuels and already has a plant in operation in Portloaise, Ireland. The company has a multi-country deal with Suez Environnement, whose subsidiaries will announce similar conversion deals at a later date, says Sita. 

Michael Murray, CEO Cynar Plc, said: “We are excited by the prospect of seeing our technology becoming both a manufacturing and mainstream reality and a market first thanks to today’s transformative agreement with SITA UK. We believe Cynar has found an entrepreneurial partner inSITA UK who can help us ensure that the years of our research will be realised in the near future with vehicles running on plastic-derived diesel, and ensuring that there is a practical commercial benefit derived from dealing with Britain’s growing mixed waste plastic mountain.”