Duo Packs £3million into creating new recycling company

Manchester-headquartered packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo has invested £3 million in establishing a new recycling business in Leeds, as it continues to enhance packaging circularity.

Operating from a 44,000 square foot warehouse in Stourton, the investment in Duclo Recycling has so far created six jobs, with plans to grow the workforce to over 20 by the end of 2022.

The business specialises in the recovery and recycling of plastic packaging, preventing end-of-use material going to waste and keeping it within closed-loop recycling streams to improve resourcefulness. Initially, a dry recycling facility and wash plant will enable Duclo Recycling to recycle around 7,000 tonnes of plastic by the end of 2022, with ambitions to double this next year by adding another wash plant.

Dale Brimelow, operations director at Duo, said: “Since Duo opened 34 years ago, we’ve always invested in ways to improve packaging through innovation, and enhance sustainability by reducing the reliance on virgin materials. To build on this further, we needed to create more direct ways to recycle material and establishing our own recycling division was a logical next step.

“Duclo Recycling gives us greater ability to boost the volume of plastic waste entering closed-loop recycling. We believe there’s significant opportunity to improve how much post-consumer plastic content is recycled, as closed-loop infrastructure is lacking in the UK, yet it’s the most effective way of keeping this valuable material in the economy. Duclo Recycling will keep the same types of material together during recycling, meaning the repurposing and reuse of plastics can be significantly extended to reduce environmental impact.”

The new company will be run by managing director Carol Cox, who has more than 25 years’ experience in the plastics industry. She comments: “There’s huge demand for recycled plastic pellets that simply isn’t being met. This demand is likely to increase as companies comply with the Plastic Packaging Tax and respond to growing calls for more resourceful packaging.

“Duclo Recycling will fill a gap in the market by providing manufacturers with greater access to recycled plastic, but our services don’t stop there. We have the capacity to work with other forward-thinking organisations across the UK to enhance the resourcefulness of their plastic packaging and reduce waste going to landfill. We’ll continue to grow our recycling capacity with the addition of the second wash plant next year and by prioritising innovation and partnerships that increase the recovery of post-consumer plastic waste.”

Dale Brimelow concluded: “We’ve seen a lot of volatility in the plastics recycling market in the past few years and prices for recycled materials continue to fluctuate. This has been caused by a whole host of factors that impact plastic usage, such as COVID lockdowns and the Plastic Packaging Tax.

“Undoubtedly, we can expect continued market unpredictability, which really stresses the value of optimising recycling processes. Economies are becoming increasingly circular and it’s more important than ever to minimise the amount of material being lost to waste during recycling. Closed-loop is an effective way of achieving this.”

Duclo Recycling Ltd is based at The Cube Shed, Intermezzo Drive, Stourton, Leeds, and is part of The Duo Packaging Group Ltd. Duo partnered with HSBC to provide financing for the new investment and was advised by accountancy firm Cowgills.