Mixed blessing

A technique that can process mixed plastics and create new recyclable products may help companies cut the high cost of sorting waste.

London-based

(ERT), with

and

, is using its powder impression moulding (PIM) process to develop products such as site hoarding systems (building site fencing) and reusable plastic containers for use in retail logistics.

The work is part of a £1.2m project partly funded by the

.

'We are looking at returnable transit packaging and other products that could potentially make use of the supermarket waste and start building a closed-loop model,' said Paul Gallen, a project leader at ERT.

'There are not many processes that will allow the use of mixed plastics in the moulding. It is an open mould technology where we take the mixed plastic to the mould and melt it in situ, rather than, say, injection moulding where you would melt the material and then move it quickly to the mould tool. If you had mixed plastics in there it would not process well.'