Recresso is investing in metal sorting technology to turn used aluminium caps into furnace-ready for smelting

From glass to aluminium: Recresso has decided to extend its recycling domain, investing around £5.5 million. The news came on Tuesday, September 6, after the company announced the installation of shredders, X-ray fluorescence technology and briquetting machinery at its Ellesmere Port site in Cheshire to sort, shred and compress aluminium bottle tops from commingled glass collections for smelting. As per the report, the machineries will be operational by the end of September 2022.

Tim Gent, Recresco’s director, said: “We have a passion for innovation, always looking to new technologies and systems that make all our activities more energy-efficient and environmentally sound.”

He added, “This investment is part of our overall journey to minimising our environmental impact while maximising yield and we look forward to seeing the positive results from this project.”

Recresso is buying sorting technology from Austrian machinery manufacturer Redwave. Of the total investment, £3.5 million will directly  from Recresso, while the remaining amount will derive from grant funding awarded in 2019 under the EU European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme, which supports individual SMEs to develop and scale up innovations.

The idea of diversifying into aluminium recycling has come after observing aluminium caps still attached to containers while glass collection. Around 20 tonnes of metal lids are spotted every week moved through Ellesmere Port plant.

Recresso is installing an ATM press, which will place the removed caps from glass bottles under 500 tonnes of pressure to form “furnace-ready” briquettes for smelting.

The company is also investing in other Redwave machinery to remove other metals from glass bottles.