Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: Axion Polymers has added two new alternative fuels to its existing range of solid recovered fuel (SRF) products. Axfuel High CV Polychip Grades A and B are fully-processed and technically-separated fuels. Grade A has a net calorific value of 40kJ/g similar to powdered petcoke. Grade B has a net calorific value of 26kJ/g with a greater mix of other materials such as wood and rubber.

Both products are derived from end-of-life automotive and electrical waste resource streams. They have low moisture, chlorine and ash content. They are manufactured as part of Axion’s large-scale materials recycling system.

“In line with our principles of treating alternative fuels from waste as products, we ensure that they are of consistently high quality to meet the technically-demanding specifications of our end markets,” said Axion Polymers Director Keith Freegard.

UK: David Palmer-Jones, chief executive of Suez recycling and recovery, has warned that if the UK left the European Union (EU) it would be bad for the country’s waste and recycling sector.

“Leaving the EU would be detrimental to the environmental services sector because the EU is the driving force behind much of the environmental policy and legislation which enables companies like Suez to invest in new services and infrastructure,” said Palmer-Jones. “Should the UK referendum be decided in favour of a Brexit and the UK leave the EU, there is a clear risk that the current EU-led policy drives towards creating a circular economy within the UK will stall or even move back a step, which in turn could have a negative impact on future investment decisions into UK infrastructure.” He added that a UK exit from the EU would cause infrastructure investment in the waste and recycling sector to be re-evaluated.

An inquiry by the parliamentary Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) on environmental policy in the EU and its effects in the UK was published on 19 April 2016. It looked at what the implications might be for the UK if it left the EU. It found that the ‘overwhelming view’ of witnesses across the sector was that EU membership has been positive for the UK environment. However, one member of the committee, Tory MP Peter Lilley accused the environmental groups who gave evidence of having vested interests because they received EU funding, according to the Press Association.

UK: Untha UK has appointed Marcus Brew as its new managing director. Brew was previously the sales director. The previous managing director since 1997, Chris Oldfield, will become the company chairman.

"Having been a part of the business for seven years, it is a pleasure to now lead the company through our next phase of growth. In truth, Chris and I won't feel much of a change, as we've both been concentrating on these responsibilities for some time – the new titles are really just a formality," commented Brew.

UK: Wastecycle's recycling facility in Colwick, Nottinghamshire is now one of the largest in the UK after an expansion of the site. By acquiring seven acres of property, which the company previously leased, and buying an additional four acres, Wastecycle has extended its site to nearly 20 acres.

"It's an exciting time for us because this expansion provides us with the platform we need to reach the next stage of growth as a company," said Financial Director Nathan Cole. "Over the long term, we plan to use the additional land to expand our extensive recycling and resource management activities. This will help us broaden the services we offer our customers while improving the quality and sustainability of the recycled products we manufacture."

The company has also completed an expansion of its main office to accommodate its growing workforce. After a 20% growth in staff 2015, it now employs almost 300 people across its Colwick site and its two sites in Leicestershire. "Ensuring our teams are comfortable in their working environments is very important to us because, not only does it increase productivity, but it also creates positive morale," said Cole. "Larger premises also provide the opportunity to open up new jobs, while improving the quality of service we can provide to customers."

Wastecycle separates 500,000t/yr of waste, including 18,000t/yr of recycling from 126,131 homes in the Nottingham City Council area. Some of the waste is turned into refuse-derived fuel (RDF) for use at cement plants. It also sorts through the rubbish of thousands of businesses across Nottinghamshire, runs a skip hire service and operates a wallboard recycling facility, which it developed with British Gypsum.

In 2014, Wastecycle's turnover increased to Euro42.8m from Euro35.9m in 2013. In 2015, it won four awards, including a bronze environmental best practice accolade at the Green Apple Awards in November 2015. It was recognised for the success of its wallboard recycling scheme, which has prevented more than 30,000t/yr of wallboard from reaching landfill.

UK: International recycling and waste management company Suez opened a new solid recovered fuels (SRF) plant in Rugby, UK on 18 September 2015. It will supply the Cemex Rugby cement plant with SRF for the next 25 years.

Suez's SRF plant will convert waste from across Warwickshire, Northamptonshire and the wider Midlands area into Climafuel®. Suez will supply Cemex with 240,000t/yr of Climafuel; 200,000t/yr from its SRF plant in Rugby and 40,000t/yr from its SRF plant in Birmingham.

The Rugby SRF plant was built as part of a 25-year deal between Suez and Cemex that was signed in 2012. Suez leased land opposite Cemex Rugby from Cemex in 2013 and construction of the Euro25m SRF facility began in 2014. The commissioning of the equipment took place earlier in 2015.

The SRF facility can process up to 300,000t/yr of waste. Around 70% of the input material comes from businesses in the region, while the remaining 30% is household waste, much of it originating from Northamptonshire County Council. The majority of the waste would otherwise be destined for landfill, but the SRF process enables Suez to extract recyclable materials, which, processed any other way, would be too contaminated to viably recycle.

"We are very pleased to officially open the Rugby SRF facility and formally mark the start of this long-term partnership between Suez and Cemex," said Jean-Marc Boursier, senior executive vice president of Suez in charge of the recycling and waste recovery division for Europe. "Suez is investing considerably in infrastructure to produce sustainable industrial fuels in the UK. The group now supplies 1.1Mt/yr of SRF worldwide. This solution gives us the ability to extract recyclable materials that would otherwise have been lost. It provides Cemex with a sustainable, long-term alternative to fossil fuels. This inauguration is a symbol of our commitment to the production of renewable energy fuels. Energy derived from SRF offers numerous advantages, because it is renewable, transportable, abundant and economically attractive."

UK: Axion Polymers has invested significantly in new laboratory and testing facilities to ensure consistent quality of its solid recovered fuel (SRF) products and to satisfy the stringent standards of its technical end markets.

It has installed a laboratory-scale furnace at its large-scale processing facility, Shredder Waste Advanced Processing Plant (SWAPP), in Trafford Park, Manchester to enhance accurate measurement and testing of the physical and thermal properties of its Axfuel® SRF 30, an alternative fuel used by the cement industry, among others.

Axion has also recruited a quality control team working within ISO 9001 operating procedures to conduct in-house product testing, including analysis on critical aspects such as SRF calorific value and chemical composition. Samples are sent on a weekly basis to external laboratories for further testing and verification.

Derived from automotive shredder residue, Axfuel SRF 30 is a sub 30mm-sized mixture of textiles, fibre-fluff, plastic, foam and rubber, with a gross calorific value of 18 - 22MJ/Kg and available in large tonnages.

"We have made this important investment because alternative fuels from waste need to be treated as a product, not as a waste. If SRF is to deliver the fuel benefit and meet the technically-demanding specifications of our end markets, it has to be of consistently high quality so customers can buy with confidence," said Axion director Roger Morton. "By operating within strict quality controls, we can ensure our reliable supply of SRF is produced to exceptionally high standards. As this fuel is sourced from end-of-life vehicles, giving it a second life as an alternative high-energy feed is going to be an attractive option for companies who want to demonstrate their environmental credentials."

UK: Jacqueline O'Donovan, managing director of London's waste management company O'Donovan Waste Disposal, has won the prestigious Institute of Directors' (IoD) London and South East Family Business Director of the Year award. O'Donovan was recognised for being a leader in her field and setting the benchmark in terms of best practice across both logistics and waste operations.

"I'm so honoured to have been recognised as Family Business Director of the Year by the IoD. It's one of the most prestigious accolades to achieve at a personal level in business. I'm thrilled that my commitment and passion for improving standards, safety and training has not only filtered across our team but the industry as a whole," said O'Donovan.

O'Donovan Waste Disposal is focused on handling the construction and demolition waste produced across London and the South East. Established in 1959 by her late father Joe, Jacqueline joined the family business at the age of 17 and took the managing director role at 19. She has grown the business to turn over Euro19.1m/yr and has been recognised as an exemplar for best practice by Transport for London and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Following this award win, Jacqueline will now represent the London and South East region at the national ceremony later in 2015.

UK: Mid UK Recycling Limited plans to extend its Wilsford Heath waste management facility at Ancaster, South Kesteven in Lincolnshire. If its plans are approved, the plant would recycle up to 350,000t/yr of waste mattresses and plastics.

Chris Mountain, managing director, said that the investment could run into 'multiple millions' of Euros. "We are an existing business, we employ 350 people in Sleaford, Caythorpe and the Ancaster site," said Mountain. "We will put in the main planning proposal in the next three months and as soon as we get the green light we'll start straight away." He said that initially the company wants to start by the end of December 2015, although it may take three years to complete the expansion. "We have been four years developing the site next-door, which is full to capacity now," he said. "The range of products we produce is getting wider and wider. It makes no sense to export those jobs out of the county."

There would be a building for machinery that could break down mattresses into resalable parts. Leftovers would form solid recovered fuel (SRF) products, which could by cement plants and power stations. Another building would be created for packing and storing gypsum from recycled wallboard, which would be sold to supermarkets as cat litter. The business would also bring in a new way of recycling rigid plastics, breaking them down into granules to sell to Lincolnshire manufacturers of drainage pipes, water pipes and car parts.

UK: Saxlund International has collaborated with Hope Construction Materials to install and commission a new waste-derived fuel solution for Hope Construction Materials' cement plant in Derbyshire, UK. The solution has been designed to provide storage, transportation, weighing and injection of solid waste fuel (SWF) to the two kilns. The goal is to increase the rate at which Hope can replace fossil fuels with waste-derived alternatives to more than 50%, a key part of its long-term sustainability targets.

The project incorporates a fuel reception and push-floor storage solution, reclaim conveyors, process tower with drum magnet and star screen, together with a weighing and pneumatic injection system to the main burners. The system facilitates stable and reliable process conditions to help minimise build-up in the pre-heater tower. It also offers a 'future-proof' solution with the flexibility to handle changing fuel characteristics and different types of waste-derived fuels, should suppliers change in the future.

"This is a flagship project for us. Once fully operational, the new solid waste fuel (SWF) system will run on a 24/7 basis delivering fuel at a rate of up to 5t/hr to each kiln," said Matt Drew, managing director Saxlund International. "It means that Hope Works will soon be operating with a significantly larger proportion of waste-derived fuels, in the process diverting up to 80,000t/yr of bulk solid waste from landfill and representing significant carbon savings to the business."

UK: Freightliner Heavy Haul (FHH) has renewed its rail haulage agreement with EDF Energy in the UK. The agreement will see an increase in contracted volumes and secures the capacity, service performance and flexible offer that FHH have demonstrated in previous contracts.

"This contract renewal builds upon our long term relationship with FHH and secures the level of service performance and flexibility that we require to meet the future challenges in the ever-changing energy market," said Paul Cooke, fuel operations manager at EDF Energy.