World’s first pilot facility converts non-recyclable waste plastic to aviation fuel
- Apr 27
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 29
Clean Planet Technologies opens world’s first waste plastics to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pilot facility.
The pilot facility tackles the growing problem of hard-to-recycle waste plastics and the environmental impact of the aviation industry.
The UK creates 5 million tonnes of waste plastics each year, 80% of which cannot be recycled and is treated as waste.
The world’s commercial aircraft consume 7-8 million barrels of jet fuel a day, less than 1% of which is produced from sustainable sources.
A major breakthrough in tackling both waste plastic and aviation emissions has been marked with the opening of the world’s first* waste plastics to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pilot facility.
Dedicated to converting hard-to-recycle waste plastics into SAF, the new Sustainability Innovation Centre is based at Discovery Park in Sandwich, Kent, and is operated by Clean Planet Technologies. The Centre is set up to research and develop new technologies to deal with non-recyclable plastic waste, beginning with conversion into jet fuel.
The UK creates 5 million tonnes of waste plastics each year, 80% of which cannot be recycled, such as carrier bags and food packaging film. Globally the world’s commercial aircraft consume between 7 and 8 million barrels of jet fuel per day, equivalent to 7-8% of total global daily oil demand.
Dr Andrew Odjo, Chief Executive Officer at Clean Planet Technologies, said:
“Our process first heats the waste plastic with a chemical reaction to turn it into a liquid, rather than burning it. This is then treated with our patented process to remove impurities and create SAF that meets stringent commercial aviation specifications.
“Every day 100,000 commercial flights fly globally. At the same time, 600,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste plastics enter the environment globally. Our pilot facility will demonstrate this waste can be turned into a premium product with a quantifiable commercial demand, as well as reducing the lifecycle carbon footprint of the aviation industry. We monitor how much energy the process uses, and overall, it cuts the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70% compared to traditional fossil jet fuel.
“With currently less than 1% of global aviation fuel produced from sustainable sources, the scale of the environmental opportunity presented by our technology means the opening of our facility is an important step towards the UK’s ambition to support sustainable aviation.”
The pilot facility plays a critical role in bridging innovation and commercial development, integrating several stages into one single, controlled system optimised to transform hard-to-recycle plastics into SAF. It has been designed to support fuel and feedstock testing, validation and progression through the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) qualification process, with financial support already in place from the Department for Transport-funded UK SAF Clearing House.
Dr. Katerina Garyfalou, Chief Operating Officer at Clean Planet Technologies, added:
“The Sustainability Innovation Centre is set up to demonstrate our patented waste-plastics-to-SAF process at pilot scale, supporting fuel testing, validation and progression. The important thing is that our pilot facility will support the growth of others, helping the UK to meet its SAF mandate. UK government policy to decarbonise aviation fuel states that 2% of UK jet fuel demand must be SAF, increasing to 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.”
The key steps of the process are:
Shredding: Waste plastics are pre-processed and shredded to a uniform size.
Pyrolysis: The material is fed into one of the centre’s two pyrolysis units, with the largest capable of processing up to 1 ton of plastic per day. In this oxygen-free environment, the plastics are thermocatalytically converted into a synthetic crude oil. This melts the plastic, rather than burning it.
Purification: Impurities and contaminants in the synthetic crude oil are removed.
Distillation: The pyrolysis oil is transferred to a distillation unit, where it is separated into relevant fractions and optimised for upgrading into higher-value fuels.
Upgrading: The fractions are then processed through Clean Planet Technologies’ patented hydroprocessing system, which uses hydrogen to further remove impurities, and transform the properties of the product to meet stringent SAF specifications.
SAF product: The resulting ultra-clean, ultra-low sulphur fuel suitable for aviation use is sent for testing, blending and evaluation as part of the ASTM qualification pathway as SAF.
The fundamentals of the process (pyrolysis, purification, distillation and hydroprocessing) are all technologies which are currently used independently at commercial scale, meaning scaling up the process is not a challenge.
Clean Planet Group was founded in 2018 by Dr Andrew Odjo, Adel Louertatani, Bertie Stephens and Fernando Diamond.
CEO Bertie Stephens added:
“Our pilot facility addresses two strategic challenges simultaneously: plastic waste management and aviation decarbonisation. By converting non-recyclable plastics – materials that would otherwise have gone to landfill or been incinerated – into low-carbon aviation fuel, the facility supports both circular economy objectives and the reduction of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions.“
This pilot opens up new ways to make sustainable aviation fuel, just as existing feedstocks such as energy crops are becoming harder to secure. It also positions the UK as a leader in turning waste plastics into SAF, supports UK and European SAF targets and is helping clear the path to commercial‑scale plants later this decade, and remove plastic waste from the environment.”
For more information, visit www.cleanplanet.com/technologies
L>R: Liubov Belousova (CPTech Production Manager), Sir Roger Gale MP, Bertie Stephens (Group CEO), Dr. Katerina Garyfalou (COO, CPTech), Matthew Gee (UK SAF Clearing House), Dr. Andrew Odjo (Group CTO & CEO of CPTech), Helen Jorden (British Plastics Federation), Kelvin Ogden (Group Facility Operator)
For more press information, please contact:
Rachel Knight, Maxim rachel@maxim-pr.co.uk 07941 697601 / 01892 513033
Erica Jones, Maximerica@maxim-pr.co.uk
07803 174720 / 01892 513033
About Clean Planet Technologies
*Clean Planet Technologies holds two patents for the upgrading of waste plastics to ultra clean, ultra low sulphur high premium hydroprocessed oils and fuels. Other organisations are looking to work towards this goal but research conducted in January 2026 shows the Sandwich facility is currently the only SAF pilot facility in the world.
Clean Planet Technologies (CPTech) develops new technologies to expedite the sustainable use of plastics, and reduction of carbon emissions.
Clean Planet Technologies stands at the forefront of eco-innovative advancements, dedicated to pioneering the development of groundbreaking green technologies and processes that set new standards for environmental responsibility.
Future activities for the Sustainability Innovation Centre in Sandwich include conversion into hydrogen and monomers.
About Clean Planet Group
CPTech is part of the Clean Planet Group.
The Clean Planet Group believes in clean air, clean oceans, a clean planet. Since 2018 it has been tackling the plastic waste and climate crises. Through our group companies we build infrastructure, develop new technologies, educate and take action to enable the sustainable use of plastics, and reduction of carbon emissions across our planet.
About Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)
SAF is defined as any renewable or waste-derived aviation fuel that meets specific sustainability criteria. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the United Nations specialist agency responsible for establishing standards and regulations in the air industry – considers SAF to have the greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions from international air travel, but in 2024 SAF accounted for less than one per cent of total global jet fuel use.
The aviation industry is estimated to be responsible for 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, and in the region of 3.5% of global warming impacts thanks to non-CO2 effects, such as contrails and nitrogen oxides at altitude.