Updated: 6.50pm
Twenty-seven people have been made redundant after plastic recycling company, which was handed grants of £1.3m by the Welsh Government to set up in Pontllanfraith, went into administration.
Plastics Sorting Limited has placed a notice on its website stating it has appointed David Hill and Peter Richard Dewey, of Begbies Traynor, were appointed joint administrators on February 1.
It adds: “The affairs, business and property of the company are being managed by the joint administrators, who act as the company’s agent and contract without personal liability.”
Wales’ largest plastic bottle recycling plant was officially opened in May 2010 and is licensed to process up to 24,000 tonnes of PET bottles a year.
The company, which has a turnover of £1.2m was given two grants, totalling £1.3 million, from the Welsh Government to develop the facility on the 91,500 sq ft site at Blackwood Business Park.
The start-up was hailed at the time by former Environment Minister Jane Davidson.
She said at the opening: “This is a wonderful example of the way in which the green economy can help transform the Valleys and communities across Wales; delivering new jobs, investment and skills.
“It shows that changing the way we think about waste doesn’t just make a difference to the environment, it can bring real economic benefits too.”
The first grant of £850,000 was used to set up PSL while the second was used to buy equipment.
The firm is a subsidiary of Cardiff-based social enterprise Cleanstream Group, which also includes Herefordshire-based plastics recycling firm Baylis Recycling.
The company describes itself as “a groundbreaking collaboration between the experience of the private sector and the innovation of the community sector” with the support of the Welsh Government and the Charity Bank. It runs the largest capacity PET (polyethylene terephthalate) reprocessing plant in the UK and employed 30. Three employees have remained.
Administrator David Hill said: “We are continuing to trade the business while we conduct a review of its operations and look for a buyer to take on the business as a going concern.”
Interested parties have until close of business on Monday, February 6, to register their interest with Begbies Traynor.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We are liaising with the administrators and remain hopeful that a solution can be found to enable work at the site to continue.”