New business models for success in the circular economy and the advantages over traditional linear economics.

Keith Freegard has been in the plastics recycling industry for the past 20 years and before that worked in industries where plastics were a primary input material. His practical knowledge of the technology employed for the commercial recovery of high value polymer products from various end-of-life product flows is helping to shape legislation in this fast-moving market. From 2002 until mid-2018, Keith managed the development Axion’s unique End-of-Life vehicle recycling business in Manchester with a focus on sales and marketing of high-quality plastics, aggregates and alternative fuels made from recovered ELV & WEEE waste streams. He has over 30 years of operational management experience gained in a variety of manufacturing environments, ranging from Factory Manager for Domestos liquid bleach with Unilever, to a start-up business for a novel biodegradable packaging product. As a Chartered Chemical Engineer and MBA, Keith believes in applying the best possible process-plant technology to extract maximum yield and value from mixed material waste streams. Keith currently operates an independent consulting business in the plastics recycling sector called KFC Ltd (Keith Freegard Consulting) . He is Vice Chairman of the British Plastic Federation’s Recycling Group and a non-Executive Director of OPRL – the UK’s on-pack recycling label scheme for consumer packaging. He also acts as an Expert Plastics Advisor to the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC).