Endolys Selects Tees Valley to Develop UK’s First Large-Scale Plastic Film Recycling Plant

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen has welcomed a plan to develop the UK’s first large scale plastic film recycling facility at the former Cleveland Bridge site, in Darlington.

Chemical recycling company Endolys will create up to 120 jobs with the installation of pyrolysis oil production units at Darlington’s former Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company works. The move will regenerate the 29-acre industrial site which has been dormant since 2021.

Plastic film is one of the most challenging plastic materials to recycle in the UK with no current large scale recycling facilities available and limited kerbside collection.

The Endolys plant will be built in two phases. The first phase, for which £60 million has already been secured, will see six units process 60,000 tonnes of shredded plastic film waste into 40,000 tonnes of pyrolysis oil each year.

The second phase, costing a similar amount, would see a further 60,000 tonnes of film waste processed into a further 40,000 tonnes of oil.

All of the film waste will be sourced from municipal waste facilities. Subject to planning and environmental approvals, phase one operations are expected to begin at the end of 2026.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “This landmark investment by Endolys is fantastic news for Darlington and will breathe new life into the iconic former Cleveland Bridge site. As well as creating scores of well-paid, good-quality, skilled jobs, it will also put our region at the forefront of innovation in recycling and clean growth.

“This is exactly the type of project that demonstrates how Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are leading the way in attracting cutting-edge industries, securing major long-term investment and building a stronger economy for local people.”

Michael Fox, CEO of Endolys, said: “This is an exciting project that will not only create high quality jobs in the growing recycling industry, but will also provide a major boost the circular economy by diverting plastic waste including many single use items such as cups, straws and plastic bags away from incineration and landfill, converting them back into a useful product.

“The former Cleveland Bridge site is ideal for what we need with an excellent building in which we can house our operations, superb road and rail links and existing grid and natural gas connections. Even more importantly we have people in this area with the engineering and technical processing skills to meet our requirements.”

The units will incorporate world leading technology developed by the Niutech Environment Technology Corporation used in 40 plants around the world. Installation will be provided by the Tees Valley engineering solutions firm Intelect.

Endolys has secured a commercial agreement with a global oil distribution and trading company to take the entire output from the plant, which will be exported into the European petrochemical market via storage at the Navigator Terminals facility at Seal Sands.