Veolia to Build UK’s First Closed-Loop PET Recycling Facility in £70 Million

According to a press release on Veolia’s official website, the company has commenced construction on what is set to become the UK’s first fully closed-loop PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling facility capable of converting plastic trays back into food-grade packaging. The £70 million initiative, located in Battlefield near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, marks a major milestone in the UK’s efforts to localize plastic recycling infrastructure and reduce dependence on virgin materials.

As reported by several UK environmental news outlets, the facility will form a central part of Veolia’s wider commitment to investing £1 billion into the UK’s circular economy by 2030. Once operational—expected by early 2026—the site will process approximately 80,000 tonnes of mixed plastics annually, sourced from household and commercial waste streams across the country.

Currently, the UK lacks a commercial-scale facility capable of recycling PET trays into new food-safe packaging, largely due to the technical difficulty of meeting stringent contamination and quality standards. Veolia, leveraging its global expertise, aims to fill this critical gap by introducing advanced shredding, washing, and flaking systems that can transform used PET from both trays and bottles into high-quality, low-carbon packaging materials suitable for the food industry.

Environmental analysts have highlighted that the use of recycled PET can reduce carbon emissions by up to 70% compared to virgin plastic production. Veolia’s new facility is therefore expected to play a key role in reducing the carbon footprint of the UK’s packaging sector.

The investment announcement coincided with French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to the UK earlier this year, underlining Veolia’s French origins and its growing strategic role in Britain’s sustainability transformation. According to the company, other investments currently underway include the expansion of the Southwark district heating network—powered by the SELCHP energy-from-waste plant—and new facilities for processing solvents and hazardous waste.

In a related development, Veolia also recently introduced a pioneering treatment solution for aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) fire suppressants containing PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). The launch comes ahead of a UK-wide ban on PFAS-based foams that officially took effect on July 1, 2025.

Source: Veolia