State-of-the-art recycling plant in Glenrothes placed into administration just months after opening

A pioneering new recycling centre in Fife that opened to much fanfare is looking for a buyer just months after opening its doors.

Yes Recycling (Fife) Limited has been placed into administration after running into cashflow difficulties, plunging the future of 60 recently-hired employees into uncertainty.

The facility, located in Whitehill Industrial Estate in Glenrothes, is unable to pay its debts because it has been operating under capacity.

Multinational food and drink firm Nestle has invested more than £1.6m into the site, which began production in September 2022 and officially opened its doors in February.

It is co-owned by the supermarket Morrisons.

Julie Tait, restructuring director at Grant Thornton and one of the joint administrators, said: “While the business has invested heavily in state-of-the-art recycling equipment, it had not yet been able to operate at full capacity and this has resulted in cash flow challenges in recent weeks.

“The company was unable to pay its debts as they fell due resulting in our appointment as joint administrators.

“This is a disappointing outcome for all those associated with the company, and our immediate priority is to support the company’s 60 employees while we assess the company’s financial position and seek a buyer for its business and/or assets.”

The remainder of the Yes Recycling Group, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, is unaffected by the administration of the Scottish business.

The Fife plant has the capability to turn hard-to-recycle flexible food packaging such as crisp bags and chocolate wrappers into plastic flakes, pellets and a new product called Ecosheet, which can be used in the construction and agriculture industries.

At full capacity, the plant was expected to be able to recycle 15,000 tonnes of post-consumer plastic packaging a year.

Earlier this year, Yes Recycling hailed the Glenrothes site as a major step forward for the British recycling industry.