Closed Loop
The Director of Euro Closed Loop Recycling has warned it is facing “considerable difficulties” and is facing closure.
In an open letter to stakeholders, Afzal Majid said that the company, which was formed in May this year following the collapse of Dagenham-based Closed Loop Recycling, said that 32 redundancies had already been made, with more to come if the current, “unsustainable” situation continues.
Majid added that an additional 12 moved to shorter hours and the plant is now operating on a 4-day working week.
The business, he said, is presently losing “at least £300,000 per month” under current conditions.
The reasons cited include the inability to find a price for its rHPDE product that can compete with the price of virgin resin, as well as struggling to compete with demand for waste from overseas buyers.
“There is a vast gap in the co-ordinated commitment by the dairy supply chain, customers and governmental bodies to fix what is structurally wrong in this sector,” Majid wrote.
“The dairy supply chain established a world leading model for sustainability in the dairy industry and the shutdown of ECLR will have implications for many businesses and undermine the confidence of investors in the UK recycling sector.”
Concluding, Majid said that to avoid permanent closure of the plant, which ultimately would result in a “significant number” of employee redundancies, it needed commitment from the UK dairy industry to use its rHPDE product.