GORSEINON: Green jobs plan for old car parts factory to be complete by 2028 as recycling firm adds second site
Plans to turn the former car parts factory in Gorseinon — which closed with hundreds of job losses in 2021 — into a plastics recycling plant are set to be complete by March 2028, the Welsh Government has announced.
Jayplas, the firm converting the old Toyoda Gosei site, has confirmed it is also opening a second Welsh plant, with the government saying around 100 jobs will be created across both sites.
The Gorseinon plant, on Heol y Mynydd, was first announced in 2023 as a £45m investment backed by Welsh Government support. The new completion date and a second site at Tredegar now give the project a firmer shape.
The former Toyoda Gosei site on Heol y Mynydd in Gorseinon which will become a new plastic recycling centre for JayplasTogether, the two plants are expected to more than double Wales’ capacity to reprocess recycled plastic once fully operational, according to the announcement.
The Welsh Government says the sites will be able to handle at least 100,000 tonnes of flexible and rigid plastics a year between them.
It estimates the operation will cut Wales’ carbon footprint by around 150,000 tonnes a year — which the government likens to taking 120,000 cars off the road.
The Gorseinon site carries a particular weight locally. The Toyoda Gosei plant spent two decades making parts for car makers including Toyota, Honda and Aston Martin before it closed in 2021, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
Its conversion into a recycling plant has been framed by the Welsh Government as a second life for a site with a long industrial history.
Adam Price, the Welsh Government’s Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy, said the second site was “a further boost to decarbonisation” and would create green jobs “in an area with a rich industrial past.”
He said the new Welsh Government was focused on “creating a stronger, more productive net zero economy that delivers for people in every part of Wales.”
Llýr Gruffydd, Minister for Rural Resilience and Sustainability, said expanding plastic reprocessing in Wales was “a vital step” that would see recycling “processed into valuable material that then goes back into the economy.”
He said keeping materials in circulation and out of the environment would cut emissions while delivering benefits for communities and the natural world across Wales.
Jayplas commercial manager Kerry O’Neill said the firm was “delighted” to be opening plants in Swansea and Tredegar, having worked closely with the Welsh Government to expand into Wales.
She said the company would use “state of the art technology” to deliver “market leading facilities” and bring long-term, sustainable employment to the areas.
The second site sits at Tafarnaubach Industrial Estate in Tredegar, in Blaenau Gwent. The council’s cabinet member for economy and place, Cllr John Morgan, called it “a strong vote of confidence in Blaenau Gwent.”
Both sites are expected to be fully operational by March 2028, the Welsh Government says.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
New Gorseinon facility at former car parts factory to double Wales’ plastic reprocessing capacity
How the £45m Jayplas plan for the Toyoda Gosei site was first announced in 2023.
Car parts manufacturer Toyoda Gosei to close all UK operations putting hundreds of Swansea jobs at risk
The 2021 closure that left the Gorseinon site empty.
