Across the valley from Ovenden Moor Wind Farm above Halifax, Envirowaste Services Ltd, perched high on Swales Moor, has taken delivery of the UK’s first mobile IQR FlexHammer™ 1800. Part of the Leo Group of companies, Envirowaste Services and its sister company, The Big Green Timber Company, will initially use the high-capacity, heavy-duty, high-speed shredder to increase the amount of wood waste they recover from 25,000TPA to 50,000TPA.
“The amount of waste wood still going to landfill in the UK is astonishing. The addition of the FlexHammer™ helps us to divert more material from landfill and recycle it into products for a variety of uses including energy production,” said Bobby Barr, Sales & Commercial Manager.
“At the moment we are achieving around a 75% recycling rate from all the material processed through our waste transfer stations. This new machine we help us to increase that to more than 95%,” Bobby continued.
Envirowaste Services pay particular attention to the impact on local residents, ecological considerations and noise and dust reductions.
“This is a necessary part of providing the reliable, efficient and on-time service we are renowned for,” commented Bobby.
He continues, “As well as ensuring a reliable and dedicated service it means we are always one step ahead. This is also reflected in our purchase of the first mobile IQR FlexHammer™ in the UK.”
Set up in 1997 and currently employing 55 people, Envirowaste reclaims a wide variety of materials from their domestic, commercial, C & D, industrial and municipal contracts throughout West Yorkshire. Materials reclaimed include cardboard and paper for pulping; plastics for further reprocessing; wood for board production and biomass; metal; and a range of quality recycled aggregates, including Type 1, 6F2, pipe-bedding and top-soil.
Bobby is enthusiastic about the effect the FlexHammer™ will have on the company’s productivity and finances, “The flexible hammers make this a true multi-material machine. We can quickly and easily move the machine to a different part of the yard and switch from wood waste processing to converting residual waste into RDF without having the laborious task and associated downtime of changing the hammers to cope with the change in material. Material that would previously have gone to landfill can now be converted into a highly sought after, environmentally sustainable RDF product.”
The 875HP Caterpillar C27 engine powering the machine benefits from brand new Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology (ACERT). This saves the company money in terms of lower fuel consumption and benefits the environment with even lower emissions.
Bobby can see an ever closer synergy in future between the waste and energy industries, “Some material just can’t be recycled, but it can be converted into a valuable carbon-friendly fuel that can form part of the answer to on-going sustainable energy production.”
He concludes, “This machine will help us to divert even more material from landfill and provide an environmentally sustainable fuel that can help reduce carbon emissions.”
Weighing in at 45 tonnes, the FlexHammer™ 1800 has a 6m x 2m feed opening and a 1.8m shaft, equipped with either 48 or 24 flexible hammers. The FlexHammer™ 1800 is capable of achieving over 100TPH and is one of the largest high speed shredders on the market.
Foldable walkways, air suspension and hydraulic supports ensure easy transportation between sites. The FlexHammer’s™ unique design allows for a range of particle sizes to be achieved – between 0-500mm – and is renowned for low wear costs, high productivity and long life expectancy.
Posts Tagged ‘waste transfer’
WOOD RECOVERY DOUBLED WITH FLEXHAMMER
CHANGING WASTE PERCEPTIONS TO BOOST RECYCLING
Post-consumer PVC-U windows and doors should be seen more as a recyclable resource, rather than rubbish to be buried in the ground, says a Derbyshire-based plastic recycler.
Too many frames are still going to landfill instead of being re-used in the manufacture
of new building products, representing an “incredible waste of precious resources”,
claims Simon Readman, Managing Director of Merritt Plastics.
As a PVC recycler and high volume trade extrusion company, Merritt processes up to 400 tonnes per month at its 60,000 sq ft Ilkeston facility, manufacturing new plastic building products from old frames and post-production offcuts all under one roof.
It takes material collected at waste transfer stations, as well as direct from construction, demolition and window companies. Payment is made against the Merritt’s weighbridge ticket for clean, de-glazed PVC-U frames, diverting a highly-recyclable material from landfill and saving on disposal costs of between £40 and £100 a tonne.
Expressing concern at recent industry figures that suggest up to 300,000 end-of-life PVC-U window and door frames per year are still being landfilled, Simon warns that attitudes in the construction and recycling industries need to change if valuable resources are to be preserved.
“Although there has been great progress in diverting frames from landfill, I feel underlying perceptions have to change if we are to maintain this momentum. Volumes of waste PVC-U are growing as more ‘early generation’ windows are replaced and the material should be regarded as a valuable and very recyclable resource, rather than rubbish to be uselessly thrown away,” he said.
Following major investment in the recycling infrastructure to handle waste PVC-U, it is now easier than ever for companies to find a sustainable and cost-effective disposal route for the waste plastic arising from refurbishment or demolition projects.
In recent months Merritt Plastics has invested more than £500,000 in new plant and equipment to boost its recycling capacity, including a second shredder and new weighbridge. It also works with manufacturers to develop ideas for new products made from recycled PVC-U.
Simon adds: “Because of the escalating price of virgin material, there is demand for replacing this with recycled PVC-U wherever possible. Hence we have invested heavily in new plant and equipment to supply this growing market.
“With environmental and sustainable issues at the top of the agenda, changing our perception of waste and re-using what we’ve got should be top priority. In twenty years time we won’t see plastic pop bottles lying around; they’ll be a resource for recycling. It should be the same for waste building plastics.”
