Jul 9 2013
Wednesday (3rd July) evening was a busy night for recycling business ECO Plastics after the company was recognised at two separate awards ceremonies. At a glittering event in London’s Hilton Hotel, ECO Plastics accepted the National Recycling Awards Materials Recycler of the Year prize, and later that evening the business’ Continuum joint venture with Coca-Cola Enterprises was crowned the Business Green Leaders’ Recycling Project of the Year.
This is an image of Jonathan Short picking up the National Recycling Award for Materials Recycler of the Year. On his right is Herman Van Der Meij, Director of Resource Management at Viridor and on his left the presenter, Alistair McGowan.
Jonathan Short, Managing Director of ECO Plastics, said: “To win two awards in an evening is quite an achievement, but to do so at different ceremonies is a first for ECO Plastics. Suffice to say that it’s been a busy evening for the team going from event to event, a little bit like the Vicar of Dibley’s Christmas lunch!
“Tonight is a reflection of the hard work of all our team and show what a fantastic year it’s been for ECO Plastics. Most obviously of course our Continuum joint venture with Coca-Cola Enterprises has been a huge success. The fact that it has been recognised with another top award demonstrates again that it is a project which genuinely has the potential to revolutionise the way that the recycling operates.”
Beating stiff competition from DS Recycling and McGrath Group in the Materials Recycler category, ECO Plastics was selected for its pioneering leadership of the industry, outstanding commercial growth and dedication to its customers and suppliers.
The judging panel at the National Recycling Awards commented: “ECO Plastics has rightly received national recognition for the scale and strength of its recycling operation and intelligently uses key partners to close the recycling circles.”
Meanwhile ECO Plastics’ and Coca-Cola Enterprises’ Continuum joint venture, collected the Business Green Recycling Project gong for Continuum Recycling, in recognition of the project’s contribution to domestic rPET production and the partnership’s impact on the local economy.
Nick Brown, Associate Director for Recycling at Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: “We are very proud of the long-term partnership forged with ECO Plastics, and this award is testament to the many shared achievements already made since opening Continuum Recycling in 2012.
“The initiative has truly transformed recycling in Great Britain, reaching the milestone of sorting more than half a billion bottles in just a year and proving fundamental in helping the Coca-Cola system to deliver on its sustainability pledge for the London 2012 Olympics. We hope the latest recognition of Continuum’s success helps to further demonstrate to everyone, from householders to Local Authorities and policy makers, the real environmental and economic benefits of recycling.”
James Murray, editor of Business Green, commented: “The judges were impressed by this innovative joint venture, which has had a major impact on the UK’s recycling capacity and ensured that Coca-Cola could recycle all the bottles collected from the Olympic Games. The project was praised for providing a real life example of how closed loop manufacturing can slash environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions.”
The awards cap a highly successful year for ECO Plastics and are the latest in a string of nominations and victories. These include listings on the Hiscox Tech Track 100 and Cleantech Connect Top 30, wins at the Green Business Awards and New Energy Awards, and Jonathan Short’s appointment as an Industry Champion for BIS’ Make it in Great Britain Campaign.