The facility, which processes post-industrial plastics including PET, PP and HDPE, is expected to cease operations by late October.<\/p>\n
Managing Director Kevin Thompson said the decision followed \u201ccareful consideration\u201d, noting that the Whittlesey site \u201chas been a small but important part of our operations\u201d but did not offer the scale required to meet the company\u2019s long-term objectives.<\/p>\n
Thompson added: \u201cBy redirecting resources to our core trading business, we can concentrate on the areas that offer the greatest growth potential and provide improved service to our key clients.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sale of the processing plant and equipment from the facility is being managed by Benchmark International.<\/p>\n
Challenging conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanden highlighted the difficult operating environment for rigid plastics recycling, with higher costs for energy, transport and labour coinciding with sluggish end markets.<\/p>\n According to the company, sustained low values for recycled polymers, driven by the lower cost of virgin plastic and the \u201cfailure of a regulatory environment that incentivises the use of recycled material\u201d, have further pressured the economics of running the facility.<\/p>\n The company has already reduced staffing levels at Whittlesey as it winds down operations and said it is working with suppliers to ensure alternative arrangements are in place for material.<\/p>\n Thompson commented: \u201cWe remain committed to delivering excellent service and strengthening our partnerships through our global trade offering.\u201d<\/p>\n Plastics sector under pressure<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanden\u2019s decision comes amid wider pressure in the UK and European plastics recycling market.<\/p>\n Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) warned this week (27 August 2025) that the sector is facing \u201cimminent collapse\u201d<\/a>, pointing to a combination of falling demand, rising costs and regulatory pressures that continue to force facilities out of business.<\/p>\n In the UK, several closures have already taken place.<\/p>\n Viridor shut its Rochester plastics recycling facility<\/a> earlier this summer, following the closure of its Avonmouth site<\/a> in December 2024.<\/p>\n Biffa also confirmed the closure of its Sunderland plant in July, which had capacity to process 39,000 tonnes of HDPE and PP each year.<\/p>\n The wider market has been subdued in August, with trading volumes and prices following seasonal trends, which have been compounded by the facility closures.<\/p>\n Prices for certain grades have softened due to an abundance of available material, particularly PET, which typically sees weaker demand during the summer months.<\/p>\n Across Europe, recyclers are also contending with low virgin polymer prices, which are putting margins under further strain.<\/p>\n \t\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\”,\\”body\\”:\\”\\\\r\\\\n\\\\r\\\\n\\”,\\”footer\\”:\\”\\”},\\”strict\\”:{\\”header\\”:\\”\\”,\\”body\\”:\\”\\”,\\”footer\\”:\\”\\”},\\”advanced\\”:{\\”header\\”:\\”\\”,\\”body\\”:\\”\\”,\\”footer\\”:\\”\\”},\\”performance\\”:{\\”header\\”:\\”\\”,\\”body\\”:\\”\\”,\\”footer\\”:\\”\\”},\\”preference\\”:{\\”header\\”:\\”\\”,\\”body\\”:\\”\\”,\\”footer\\”:\\”\\”}}”,”gdpr_scor”:”true”,”wp_lang”:””,”wp_consent_api”:”false”,”gdpr_nonce”:”de155d0f64″,”gdpr_consent_version”:”1″,”gdpr_uvid”:”d418b3b21e6c4619684fe1314c8bd90b”,”stats_enabled”:””,”gdpr_aos_hide”:”false”,”consent_log_enabled”:””,”enable_on_scroll”:”false”};
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