Plans approved for huge new Quantafuel plastics recycling plant at Port of Sunderland, creating 200 jobs

Quantafuel Sunderland Ltd, a subsidiary of the specialist recycling company based in Norway, will build the plastics processing plant on a 12-acre site on the eastern edge of port.

The development will take mixed plastic waste from across the north of England that would otherwise have been incinerated or disposed of in landfill.

The new plant will support 200 roles during construction and will create over 100 full-time jobs when it opens, ranging from mechanical and chemical engineering posts, to management, security, and cleaning positions.

The proposals went before Monday’s meeting of Sunderland City Council planning and highways committee for a decision, where they were unanimously approved by councillors in attendance without debate.

Winifred Patricia Johansen, director of Quantafuel Sunderland, thanked the city council for the decision and said they were “very pleased” to be moving forward with the proposals.

She said: “We’re hoping to open similar plants across the UK but chose Sunderland as our first development as the port provides an ideal location, and the city has a good, skilled workforce to draw on.”

She added working with the local community is “extremely important” to them and plans are in place to hold job fairs and community liaison events.

Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Graeme Miller said he was “thrilled” permission had been granted for the plant.

He said: “We’re a city transforming and growing, and this major investment from Quantafuel demonstrates what we have to offer global companies, and our transition to becoming a key investment hub for innovative businesses in the sustainable technologies and green industries.”

Construction is expected to get underway later this year, with the site opening in 2025.

The plant will be designed to process around 100,000 tonnes of low value plastic waste, such as soft food packaging and a variety of domestic and industrial plastics.

Pyrolysis technology will be used to break down the plastics into raw materials that can be used again in the manufacture of new products.

It will be the first plant operated by Quantafuel in the UK to recycle plastics, which reduces C02 emissions by around 70% compared to incineration.

The raw materials produced will be shipped from the port to customers in the petrochemical industry to be used again, while self-generated gas will be used to power the plant.