Glass manufacturer Beatson Clark invests in recycling plant

ROTHERHAM glass manufacturer Beatson Clark has invested £840,000 in a new recycling plant.

The firm manufactures bottles and jars for the food, drink and pharmaceutical sectors from their Greasborough Road site, where they also recycle.

The plant has been fully automated, meaning it will be able to process the 4,734 tonnes of glass that they take through their Rotherham recycling contract.

The investment in improvements also means that the plant can process more waste glass, or cullet, for its furnaces. It processes six tonnes of materials per hour, almost double the 3.5 tonnes it did previously.

The new system has an optical sorting machine which uses light and cameras to sort different types of glass and ceramics, which the firm says can cause defects in the glass and damage the equipment if they are not taken out.

The glass recycled at Beatson Clark is used to make new bottles and jars. Textiles, steel and aluminium are taken away and sent on for further processing at the firm’s recycling partners.

Colin Saysell, supply chain manager at Beatson Clark said: “Sourcing the right quantity of glass cullet can be difficult at times so our new, improved recycling plant will help to prevent us running short.

“The improvements will also help us to reduce our carbon footprint as the recycled material only has to travel a few metres from the plant to the furnace rather than being brought in from a recycling processor several miles away.”