Biffa reopens Suffolk MRF after USD 16m upgrade part-funded by UK pEPR scheme
Biffa has reopened its Masons materials recovery facility in Suffolk after a USD 16m (GBP 12m) upgrade, half funded by the UK Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme through money allocated by PackUK and distributed via Suffolk County Council and Braintree District Council. Once fully operational the site will process up to 65,000 tonnes of recycling a year, with a new glass processing plant, upgraded optical sorting and fire protection, and the redevelopment underpins a ten-year extension of Biffa's sorting contract with Suffolk County Council. The project is described as one of the first significant uses of pEPR funding to modernise UK recycling infrastructure.
Why this mattersThe project is an early test case for whether UK pEPR fees can be recycled into sorting capacity, shaping how packaging producers' compliance costs translate into material quality and recovery rates.
- The USD 16m (GBP 12m) redevelopment was funded equally by Biffa and the pEPR scheme.
- The pEPR share of USD 8m (GBP 6m) was allocated by PackUK and distributed by Suffolk County Council (USD 7m, GBP 5m) and Braintree District Council (USD 1m, GBP 1m).
- Upgrades include a new glass processing plant, optical sorting, film extraction, a twin-ram baler and USD 1m (GBP 1m) of fire protection including Helios cannons.
- Once fully operational the site will process up to 65,000 tonnes of recycling a year, supporting dual-stream collection across six district and borough councils.
- The redevelopment underpins a ten-year extension of Biffa's recycling sorting contract with Suffolk County Council.
- PackUK chief executive Jeremy Blake welcomed the use of pEPR funding to strengthen UK recycling infrastructure.