WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING
1. Employ an Accredited Professional
There are many well-meaning amateurs, but when handling something as sensitive as your company’s data you really need to call in the professionals. Choose a professionally accredited WEEE management company that offers the full range of services, but which also offers the option for safe reuse as part of an overall package. Check with your regulator first to see whether the company’s site has a clean bill of health – every WEEE recycler should undergo an annual audit by the regulator to check it is operating to the required standards. Confirmation of a clean bill of health can go some way towards assuring you that you are dealing with a credible entity.
2. Ask about their data
management/destruction practices
A professional company will have capability for data destruction as well as removal of evidence of identity if required. Traceability is increasingly important and some will barcode your machines so you can get proof of destruction if needed. Professionals will offer a bespoke service.
3. Check that they are real recyclers.
With the focus on resource efficiency and proper recycling, you want to make sure that what you pass on is going to be recycled properly. There is high variation here, but some companies go that extra mile to make sure that as far as they can all materials are returned back to high value productive end uses. When you consider the resource cost of extracting new precious materials from the earth, the chance to recover the maximum is imperative. For example each person’s WEEE will on average use 1 troy ounce of gold – but to produce that gold from new would involve moving 11 tonnes of earth.
www.beyond-waste.com
CASE STUDY
Light Brothers, based in Lewes, Sussex, was one of the original market entrants to manage WEEE, first applying their established recycling know-how in 2000 when the UK fridge mountain loomed. The company now offers a fully integrated and bespoke service, starting from reuse and refurbishment through to recycling and supply of materials back into manufacturing. It is one of the few UK companies that can take all 13 types of WEEE for reuse and recycling. Light Brothers has just passed its annual Environment Agency audit with flying colours. It has also undergone the rigours of a CHWMEG audit – the only UK WEEE recycler to do so. This is a basic requirement for doing business with companies headquarted in the US.
New environmentally friendly wastewater treatment also brings cost savings
A
revolutionary new system for the treatment of wastewater is now available in the UK and Ireland. BioAmp is an environmentally friendly system that solves a range of wastewater problems and at the same time brings considerable cost savings. BioAmp is a compact, computer controlled microbial fermentation unit that is installed on site and delivers a large amount of active, naturally occurring bacteria directly into the drains. The bacteria then goes to work on the wastewater, reducing grease, fats and oils build-up, as well as eliminating odours. It is ideal for use on grease traps, septic tanks and sewage treatments at far less cost than other bacteria based systems. The BioAmp system delivers 31 trillion live bacteria every 24-hours into drains, grease traps, lift stations and wastewater treatment plants. The BioAmp system is 1000 times more powerful at one-tenth the cost of commercially available dry powder or liquid bacterial formulations. It enables wastewater problems to be solved in-house, enabling compliance with European Directives and local regulations. The system has US National Sanitation Foundation approval.
The UK Government and local authorities have introduced stringent requirements on wastewater purity for industrial and commercial facilities, involving surcharges and fines for those who do not meet the standards required. BioAmp speeds and amplifies the natural breakdown of organic waste, including soluble BOD, TSS, ammonia and FOG, transforming highly polluted wastewater to more acceptable levels and the water utility operators. BioAmp’s unique technology can bring savings of thousands of pounds per year by reducing surcharges, fines and energy costs for businesses and other organisations. Because the system is supplied and maintained on a monthly fee basis, there is no capital equipment investment required. It can normally be incorporated into existing drainage systems without the need for modifications.
Many companies, both large and small, are already benefiting from
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BioAmp, including manufacturers, food processors, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, local authorities, utilities and mining. Typical examples of savings achieved are a food processing company in the Philippines that is saving approximately £16,000 per year in fines for foul odours, a telecommunications company in Ireland that has reduced its wastewater charges by around £30,000, and a food manufacturer in Denmark that has achieved a total saving of around £17,000 on its drainage cost BioAmp converts Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) to CO2
and H2 O and
reduces the amount of off-site sludge disposal. It lowers energy consumption, conserves water and can replace harmful chemicals, making it a vital part of any environmental improvement programme. It can also help companies achieve ISO 14,001 Certification and enhance the IPPC directive.
BioAmp presents one of those rare opportunities when solving an environmental problem has an immediate and measurable impact, needs no large capital investment and brings with it a sizeable cost reduction.
BioAmp is produced and supplied by BioHygenic, which is an NCH company.
steve.martin@nch.com
The BioAmp system for waste water treatment
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