This has to be the waste management mantra to all skip companies looking to reduce their future landfill tax bill.
As landfill tax and gate fees increase, skip companies’ waste disposal methods need to be smarter and further opportunities to recycle identified.
Fairfield Materials Management believes that Greater Manchester-based skip companies should be sorting and separating incoming green or garden waste material as a means of saving on landfill charges, and redirecting it to Fairfield’s site in East Manchester.
Landfill tax on biodegradable waste was increased at the beginning of April 2008 by a further £8.00, to £32.00 per tonne. This price doesn’t include the gate fee.
Fairfield offers a ‘throw-away’ gate fee of £25.00/tonne for green waste; a price that has encouraged many landscapers and skip hire companies through their gates.
With zero waste ambitions for the New Smithfield wholesale market site on which it is based, Fairfield has contributed to a phenomenal increase in recycling rates on the market from 8% to 60% in 3 years.
Fairfield is a social enterprise that was set up in 2003 in order to divert thousands of tonnes of green and vegetable waste away from landfill and eradicate unnecessary transportation. Its in-situ composting facility on the New Smithfield wholesale market processes fruit & veg waste from the traders and makes it into a BSI PAS100 compost.
The result?
A: many happy skip hire firms that are enjoying lower disposal costs.
B: a dark brown, nutrient-rich compost, in which waste really has been turned into goodness.
As Emma Smith, Projects Manager says, “Companies trying to dispose of their green waste material like to come to us because we provide a very low cost service. We also think they like our genuine environmental intentions”.
Fairfield provides a 6 day drop-off service at its New Smithfield market site in East Manchester. Large green waste customers are billed at the end of the month.
Fairfield’s green waste service will help customers to be more sustainable, to help save the earth, and to save the pounds in their pocket.
Archive for June, 2008
GET IT SORTED!
Learn to Crawl Before You Work
The latest Generation IV fully hydrostatic tracked loading shovels, from leading crawler loader manufacturer, Liebherr, includes two models in the range which are specifically engineered and factory-built for all the requirements of landfill work – the LR 624 Litronic and the LR 634 Litronic.
A number of specific landfill features have been designed into the machines and the latest engine technology is employed to ensure reliability, performance, fuel economy and reduced noise and exhaust emissions.
Liebherr’s well proven and highly developed hydrostatic drive system remains at the heart of the crawler loader range, which now also includes the well-proven high-technology Litronic engine and hydraulics management system to ensure optimum output and efficiency at all times, as well as fulfiling a diagnostic role for maintenance and workover.
One of the most versatile machine ranges employed on landfill, Liebherr hydrostatic crawler loaders are capable of a wide variety of tasks, including: loading and carrying, sorting and condensing garbage, bulldozing and grading. Additionally, these machines come into their own for spreading landfill cover, or on general earthmoving duties when new cells have to be created.
Standard landfill specification includes all the necessary features required to protect the machine and operator – even on the most arduous of sites. These features include lift cylinder covers, external air supply alternator, exhaust manifold isolation, radiator guard, engine air pre-cleaner with automatic dust ejection, cooling system reversible fan, final drive protection rings and fine perforated plates to the engine housing. Optional extras are available such as rear striker bar, fuel tank guard, track shoes with trapezoidal holes, tilt cylinder guard. Rear-view CCTV systems can be installed, as can an automatic central lubrication system.
For the operator, the spacious cab on Liebherr crawler loaders is a comfortable, functional and safe work station for optimum performance and minimum fatigue, is glazed with tinted armoured glass and is fully ROPS and FOPS protected. Employing the science of ergonomics, the cab is lightly pressurised to prevent dust and odour incursion and is fully air-conditioned. A fully adjustable seat, with ventral safety belt, includes twin joystick controls integrated into the armrests – one for travel speed and direction, the other for attachment movements; Liebherr also offers an option of steering pedals via V-pattern travel control. There is even a lockable storage space under the armrest, a cup holder, coat hook and a 12v electric coolbox.
Front end attachments include standard, multi-purpose, waste and clamshell buckets with appropriate bolt-on or flush-mounted weld adaptors for teeth and cutting edges suited to the purpose. A rear-mounted rigid drawbar or three-shank ripper can also be fitted and the latter is particularly useful for loosening overburden.
For more info call 0844 560 7706 and quote ‘Learn to Crawl TS35’
The Garbage Guru
“All my tips come from personal experience managing waste recycling facilities in the sunny North West of England – Wigan, Liverpool, Widnes, Stoke on Trent, etc…”
1. Waste Picker Productivity
Make the job simple with as little double handling as possible.
A mixed builder’s skip could contain all sorts that can be diverted from landfill.
Tip and spread the contents on the floor, then load each fraction, like timber and metal, into a medium size loading shovel. At many companies I visit the loads are being pushed up and contaminating good material for recycling. Space is always at a premium – I say again, buy a baler and buy extra hook lift bins to store recyclate.
2. Second Sorting Shift
Consider introducing a second shift to your transfer station/ recycling facility. It may be safer and more cost effective to sort after hours, when there are no vehicles tipping.
3. You’re Fired!
The work in transfer stations is hard, dirty and dangerous, so staff turnover can be high.
Ensure your employment contracts, offer letters and even notes in diaries are up to date. To get rid of unsuitable staff, the paperwork must be right.
4. There’s Gold in Them There Skips!
Never give up looking for cash in the trash. This week I found a mint condition Elvis EP inside an old radiogram!
Roger Hudspith is a director of A2Shred Ltd in Winsford, Cheshire. He also holds the level 4 COTC for waste transfer treatment and hazardous waste treatment. Email the Garbage Guru at theguru@theskip.net to ask any questions about the murky world of waste. For more tips visit www.skiphiremagazine.co.uk
Is Health and Safety becoming impossible?
In this month’s article I have returned to H&S having discussed the new WAMITAB Competency scheme last month. The stimulus for the title is actually based on some real conversations that I have had this month when out and about visiting sites. I think that almost everywhere I went the issue of H&S came up, with most people feeling that it was effectively stopping the job… at least where it was being followed!
I can certainly understand where these concerns come from, particularly as more and more pressures are placed on managers from all sides. I am sure that most of you will feel that H&S is just another example of the vice being tightened and making previously simple tasks even more impossible.
It is probably true that H&S has become a bit of a weight for us all to carry, but I think that it is too tempting to blame it for everything that is wrong in the world! At the end of the day most H&S legislation is founded on common sense and if you look closely it tends not to be terribly prescriptive, with most requirements based on the completion of risk assessments.
The HSE web site is an excellent resource and I would recommend you look at it as there is a great deal of information and it is pretty easy to navigate around. One of the more humourous parts of the website is a section on H&S myths, all of which have received some publicity and false claims as fact. I thought that bringing your attention to some of these might give you some appreciation of how H&S is given a bad name…
MYTH ONE : ALL OFFICE EQUIPMENT MUST BE TESTED BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN EACH YEAR.
I thought this was a good one to start with, as it is something that I come up against quite a lot. Portable Appliance Testing can be a costly expense and I can understand why you might want it to be carried out… many of you mention it to me, describing it as a bit like an insurance policy, stating “well at least we have done everything we can”.
All of this is perhaps reasonable, but actually, the law doesn’t require you to have PAT testing undertaken, it just requires employers to assess risks and take appropriate action.
The HSE’s advice is that for most office electrical equipment, visual checks for obvious signs of damage and perhaps simple tests by a competent member of staff are quite sufficient.
MYTH TWO : KIDS MUST WEAR GOGGLES TO PLAY CONKERS.
I remember reading about this in the papers last year and thought that it was a case of H&S gone mad. Unfortunately the reality is that some schools did in fact require kids to wear goggles when playing conkers, but the HSE maintain that this has nothing to do with them. Quite rightly they say that the risk from playing conkers is incredibly low and just not worth bothering about. They go on to recognise that if kids deliberately hit each other over the head with conkers, that’s a discipline issue, not health and safety.
I appreciate that skip hire staff won’t be playing conkers at work, but there are parallels, as all too often companies jump straight into issuing PPE for tasks, without really thinking about other (and better) control measures. A decent risk assessment should be the starting point, particularly where the precautions are based on the risk hierarchy.
MYTH THREE : WORKERS ARE BANNED FROM PUTTING UP CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN THE OFFICE.
This has a seasonal airing and some companies may be banning such frivolity, but again this shouldn’t be pinned on H&S. This doesn’t mean that it is a free for all, with you still needing to take some basic precautions… use a stepladder and not a chair, also use sensible footwear when using the steps and think about where you are putting the decorations, avoiding sources of heat. All of this seems to be common sense and doesn’t stop the festive season!
Again, this can have broader relevance, as the risk is from staff doing tasks in a dangerous manner, rather than the activity being dangerous in its own right. Make sure that a decent risk assessment has been undertaken, precautions have been communicated and, importantly, that they are enforced.
These three myths are based on well intentioned concerns, but all too often H&S seems to make people switch off their common sense and either do nothing, or do too much. Both can be dangerous and both certainly give H&S a bad name.
The HSE refer to “sensible risk management” and we would certainly concur with this principle.
Nigel Mair is a WAMITAB assessor and verifier and runs the North West Regional Assessment Centre, delivering WAMITAB qualifications and other H&S, waste and environmental training.
If you have any questions for Nigel, please email them through to nigel@theskip.net
Go Your Own Weigh
Karen Wilde takes a look at weighbridge evolution and the modern tools available to enhance your weighing operations.
Some days, I look down at my ever expanding waistline and think I’m going to need a weighbridge instead of scales soon. Middle age spread is no fun. But weighbridges are. Stick with me now…
Those glorified bathroom scales that we call weighbridges have evolved over the years. At one time full of levers and counterbalances and hard to use; best not to mention accuracy too loudly either. Today, things are different. Weighbridge technology has vastly improved, and a good weighbridge can become the central hub of your business.
A variety of types and sizes means you can find just the right one for your particular business needs. As you can imagine, these needs vary from company to company. So much so, that finding an industry standard is almost impossible. It gets worse when you start to examine the software these companies use. Each business is unique in its application of this equipment and it isn’t unusual for software to be fully customised, or even made to order.
TYPES OF WEIGHBRIDGE
Surface Mounted
Surface mounted bridges, as the name suggests, are fitted directly on top of the road. It goes without saying that you will need a good flat surface to fit this type, although some weighbridges can accommodate an angle of up to 5°.
These bridges are supplied in sections, and can be anything up to 24 metres in length and take weights of up to 100 tons. Big enough for most skip yard applications. Fitted into the main deck are a set of components that actually do the weighing, load cells, instead of the old levers and counterbalances. New digital cells are very accurate and hard-wearing; they can even be connected to the Internet and will automatically notify an engineer if there is a problem. Troubleshooting becomes a breeze when you don’t need to start digging and dismantling to handle repairs and recalibration.
Surface mounted weighbridges do require ramps on either end so that your vehicles can ride up onto the weighing deck. This means not only is the bridge very long, but will also need a good bit of space beyond this to position yourself for your run up. Because of this, it can be a good idea to fit them near the entrance to your yard.
One of the major plus points with surface decks, is that they are easily taken up, relatively speaking. If you should ever move to a new yard, for example, you can take your weighbridge with you.
Portable
Doing this is even easier with one of the many portable decks that are available. These mini bridges are great for spot checks or for filling in while you are waiting for the installation of your full size bridge. Using them is slightly different though, as you are weighing each axle separately, instead of the truck as a whole. To do this you have to drive over them at a slow, steady speed. The cells then weigh each axle as it passes over to get a total weight. Not as accurate as a full size bridge but they serve a useful purpose.
Pit Mounted
Pit mounted bridges, on the other hand, are fitted flush with the road surface. This is done by digging a trench to the required size and lining it with concrete. Load cells can then be dropped in and the main weighing deck fitted on top. Handily, many of the old lever based bridges were also built into pits. So, if you are stuck with an old bridge, it can be updated quite easily.
Because they don’t need mounting ramps at either end, pit mounted bridges can fit into a much smaller space than surface mounted. No more run up problems. They don’t even need to be full length, just full width. Using it this way creates a much more accurate axle weighbridge, especially if your truck has self-compensating axles. Take these over a surface mounted bridge and you find the weight shifting about as you ride up the ramp. This will inevitably affect the weighing and give you an inaccurate reading. Dynamic weighing of this type can be done over a pit mounted deck; the flat surface means that the load won’t shift as it goes over the bridge. Making it smooth and accurate, like a Beckham free kick.
On the downside, pit mounted bridges can be prone to flooding. This makes choosing the right bridge for your yard especially important as you must take drainage into account. And digging that pit in the first place could increase the cost of your installation.
Portable versions of the pit mounted weighbridges have not yet been developed. I am told that manufacturers are still waiting for ACME Industries to perfect the movable hole.
On-board Weighing
Fines for an overweight truck on the public highway are no laughing matter and a small business could be hit hard. There is no excuse. With this in mind, load cells on trucks make a lot of sense. Besides letting the driver know he is overloaded, modern cells can also be trade approved. This now makes it possible for the driver to pick up a skip, weigh it there and then and print off an invoice in the cab. How much better to be able to charge by weight instead of volume?
SOFTWARE
A good bridge is only half as useful as it could be without some good software to back it up. True, your bridge will probably come with its own rudimentary software and a basic controller as standard. But, various companies now provide bespoke software for weighbridges, and the controllers can be easily replaced, meaning you don’t have to struggle to find an off-the-shelf package with just the right combination of functionality for you. And with more of us being affected by LATS, recording the amount of waste being diverted from landfill will be easy and pain free. The right software will keep track of all the relevant details without slowing down other aspects of your business.
Your software could do more than just operate the bridge. Packages are available that can track skips and lorries so you will always know where everything and everyone should be. Don’t worry though; this isn’t a Big Brother thing. It’s all a matter of knowing which customer a particular load is for, or where it’s returning from. For instance, if a driver is going to collect a skip, you will know where he is going. Weighing him when he gets back allows you to match up that truck and skip with the relevant customer. Billing the client is made easier too as any software worth its salt will connect directly and seamlessly with an accounts package like Sage. As soon as you have weighed the skip, an invoice can be ready within minutes.
Things can be even easier with some clever electronics to replace the simple control box normally attached to your bridge. Companies such as Weightron and Avery Weigh-Tronix have developed Number Plate Recognition Systems (NPRS). With these, your computer can now control who has access to the bridge, or even the yard. It is a simple set up then for the computer to know who is leaving the yard, where they are going and how heavy they are when they return.
Weight in and weight out is simply done. Now, thanks to the wonders of the internet, more complex systems can be set up. You could track the movements of trucks around the country (or a very large yard) with a network of weighbridges all linked to a central computer; all of which can be linked to accounts for invoicing the right people at the right time, or recorded for LATS.
HEALTH & SAFETY
In a large yard, it just makes sense to have as few people as possible wandering about around heavy plant and trucks. Driver operated control boxes keep bums on seats. There’s no real need to have drivers leave cabs, and these boxes give your bridge a huge safety boost. Each driver is issued with a swipe card that is read by the box. Visiting drivers can have bar-coded tickets printed at the bridge as they come in which they swipe again as they leave. So, there is no excuse for anyone to be wandering around. Of course, with NPRS there is no need for swipe cards either. Your bridge can act as “Guardian of the Yard” and record the movement of every truck and its load.
Twin bridges can be an expensive option for controlling vehicle movements but they do lend themselves to a health and safety conscious one way system. Many companies find they more than pay for themselves because they allow more trips to be made with no unnecessary, expensive and potentially dangerous queuing.
Whichever type of weighing system suits your organisation depends on many factors. Weighbridges can be a lot more important, and useful, than you might have thought – not just for weighing your staff after the Christmas party. But used correctly, and with thought, can really streamline virtually every aspect of your business.
