Job description

The above full–time KTP post is available immediately (start date must be between July and August 2023) for 2 years with Fiberight UK Ltd and the Engineering department at the University of Exeter.

The successful candidate will be employed by the University of Exeter (with some travel to Exeter involved), but will be primarily based in Swansea, Wales at Fiberight’s premises.

This is an opportunity for a Materials Scientist to work as the KTP Associate on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University of Exeter and Fiberight Ltd, helping develop new systems, processes and methodologies for materials testing and recycling, with the potential to redefine how people recycle plastics in the UK and how industry analyses them to get maximum value.

Project description

The project will involve a review of materials monitoring and detection methods, such as in-line spectroscopy but also other, as yet unproven, techniques from technology providers. A process of optimisation of these monitoring methods will then be carried out alongside materials characterisation, and development of appropriate models for collection and interpretation of big data. This is an exciting opportunity to work with a growing company and make a real difference to how much plastic is recycled in the UK, with the potential to change the way we do this and start to influence policy and practice, whilst ensuring maximum quality of the material and benefiting the circular economy. You will bring new and exciting thinking to a growing industry with the chance to develop innovative processes and make a significant impact to both the company and society.

About the business

Fiberight is helping to enhance the recycling industry in the UK, through establishment and operation of the most advanced recycling plants. Only 7% of flexible plastic packaging placed on the market is collected for recycling, with the rest ending up in landfill or incineration. Using Fiberight’s patented HYDRACYCLETM process, they accept and processes unsorted non-hazardous household and commercial waste, which is not processed by other recycling plants. Resources are recovered and then converted into high-value materials and products. The largest portion of the waste stream processed by Fiberight is unrecycled plastics, including significant volumes of Polyethylene (PE) found in post-consumer packaging. Thus, characterising plastic polymer types and maximising their recovery is key to the economics of the process. This project provides the opportunity to take a lead on developing new systems that help transform material monitoring, data collection and analysis and will increase recycling recovery rates in the UK, transforming our use of materials so that resources stay within a circular economy.

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