Location: Primary location: Christchurch (some travel to Bristol required)
Benefits include:
- Salary: £32,000-£40,000, including potential project completion bonus of up to 10%.
- Additional development budget of up to £2,000 annually (training courses, further studies etc.).
- Exciting opportunity to be the bridge between two facilities on the cutting edge of polymer recycling.
Project Aim: The aim of this KTP is to develop a way of standardising the material characteristics of mixed plastic waste streams and turn them into a feedstock for the plastic lumber market.
Project
Commercial plastic recycling is severely limited by the inability to separate plastic waste streams, with most of the 75% of plastic going to waste coming from streams that cannot be segregated effectively. This project aims to develop a process control system capable of standardising the performance characteristics of materials developed from mixed plastic waste streams, preventing them from being incinerated and turning waste into a critical feedstock for future, more sustainable products.
This project will leverage NCC’s access to leading researchers and expertise in polymer composites, and Circular11’s expertise of polymer processing to develop a novel ‘dynamic formulation’ methodology. This capability will then be embedded in Circular11 to standardise the material characteristics of mixed plastic waste streams and turn them into a feedstock with reproducible performance to replace timber in non-structural outdoor applications.
About C11
Circular11 takes plastic waste that would otherwise go to incineration and turns it into a composite material which is manufactured into outdoor products that have a net-negative carbon footprint. These products are then collected and recycled at the end of their lives. Circular11 achieves this via an innovative process control system that enhances and standardises the quality of mixed plastic streams that normally cannot be further separated.
Circular11’s mission is to turn all mixed plastic waste into a critical feedstock for the timber market, and in doing so, enable the decarbonisation of infrastructure assets that currently rely on a linear economy of short-lived timber materials that are destined for incineration.
About NCC
NCC is an independent, open-access technology centre delivering world-class research and development of composite materials and more. As part of the UK’s Catapult Network we have access to the latest technology and technical expertise in polymer composite development.
Requirements
- Qualifications: Its desired that the KTP associate will have a minimum of a 2:1 degree in a relevant field; applications from Chemistry, Materials Science, or another relevant topic will be considered. A masters or higher level would be preferable, with evidence of success in a relevant longer, self-driven project or thesis, that has taken place in either a university, research and technology organisation (RTO), or in a research-driven commercial setting.
- Experience: The associate must have experience of polymer processing, and ideally, polymer compounding. Addition experiences are desirable; material testing (thermal, chemical, mechanical), process modelling and automation. A combination of multiple of the above is desirable, but not essential. Experience in running long-term projects such as a thesis is preferable. Ideally the associate will have experience in publishing papers.
- Skills and attributes: The associate will need to be driven, motivated and comfortable with independent work. They should be proactive, display confidence in using their initiative and able to lead their work but also able to work within a wider team. The associate must be a good communicator, and able to clearly convey complex technical information to a varied audience. They will be able to competently address scientific and engineering problems involving technical and non-technical factors. The associate will need the ability to review data to logically justify alternative approaches and compare them against appropriate criteria.
- Other: The associate must have ability to travel between NCC (Bristol) and Circular 11 (Bournemouth).
A KTP is a three-way collaboration that benefits all parties:
- A graduate or postgraduate (known as an Associate)
- A business or a not-for-profit organisation
- A university/research institution (Knowledge Base)
KTPs are designed to deliver an innovation project and bring about lasting, transformative change. As a KTP Associate, you lead the project with full support and input from the organisation and the Knowledge Base teams. https://www.ktp-uk.org/graduates/
Closing date for applications is 23:59 on Sunday 10th August 2025