WASTE MANAGEMENT & RECYCLING
recyclables can be startling. Separated PET-standard plastic can be sold for £175 per tonne to processers, while mixed plastic is worth only £40 per tonne. Currently much of the recyclable material captured within local authority collection schemes, particularly within co-mingled collections, goes abroad for processing. And around 15% of co-mingled collected material intended for recycling is of such bad quality that it goes straight to landfill.
Given the increasing demand for
PET-grade recycling, the need to develop a truly ‘green’ recycling system that meets domestic demand for low-carbon food packaging means that local authorities must ensure that more of the materials they capture are recycled within the UK, and in more sustainable ways. Coca-Cola’s investment in the new facility demonstrates that a strong business case can be made for developing the necessary input-side recycling infrastructure in the UK to allow the expansion of highly value-added food- grade recycling, which in turn can boost ‘green’ jobs and investments. That investment begins with local authorities and their partners ensuring that
ER
processors have regular access to a high quality supply of recyclables to produce high-quality recycled products. At the ground-level that means encouraging more people to use recycling facilities and broadening the range of materials they can recycle. It also means designing collection systems that do not lose the quality of recycled materials through cross-contamination. Local authority recycling systems can do more than just cut the carbon waste footprint from household waste, they can also help create employment and boost the local economy.
And more than this,
local authorities, and indeed their residents, can become a vital cog in a more sustainable national economy. The financial incentive exists to expand the domestic recycling industry, now we just need to ensure the quality of supply is available.
Overall, simple steps to improve how we recycle materials could drive a whole new green economy. Not a bad result from materials that would, until just a few years ago, have been thrown into a landfill pit.
www.ectrecycling.co.uk
Waste not, want not, efficient electric heating warms composting facility
A
Veolia composting facility in East Sussex which recycles green waste into organic soil conditioner is using Dimplex electric heating and solar thermal hot water to optimise its own energy efficiency.
In addition to five full-time staff based
at the Woodlands Centre at Whitesmith near Uckfield, the site receives up to 60 visitors a week, including the general public, schools, and local authorities from across Europe, all coming to investigate environmental best practice – so a comfortable environment is vital and Dimplex’s flexible electric heating offered an ideal solution.
Dimplex EPX panel heaters with a
four-zone electronic programmer were specified for the high-specification single- storey control room and visitor centre, and in keeping with the environmentally- friendly purpose of the facility, Dimplex solar thermal water heating was installed to meet the hot water requirement for the washrooms, showers and kitchenette. The offices and visitor centre have been designed to be as ‘green’ as possible, being highly insulated and externally clad with cedar. Electric heating performs very well in modern airtight buildings, maximising energy efficiency, while the solar thermal water heating supplies plenty of low carbon hot water. 100 percent efficient electric
appliances have no waste, no emissions, no on-site storage concerns and no need
for an annual safety inspection, making them ideal for commercial developments. Running costs are kept to a minimum by the sophisticated Dimplex four-zone electronic controller, which can maintain different operating patterns in different zones, for example, boosting the temperature in the changing rooms ready for the end of a work shift.
Three solar panels were specified, together with a 300 litre solar cylinder with supplementary immersion coil to top up the solar warmth when necessary. “Due to the placement of the panels for optimum efficiency and the design of the building, the pipework ran externally over the roof,” says Matt. “We opted for hard tubing to give protection from the elements, and made sure the system was well insulated to hold on to the heat from the panels. Push fit connectors made the installation very straightforward.” The majority of the site houses an enclosed in-vessel composting facility capable of turning 46,000 tonnes a year of consumers’ green waste and kitchen scraps into high quality compost. The facility opened in October 2009 and easily coped with the harshest winter in 30 years; although there was over 30cm of snow on the ground, the Dimplex panel heaters coped easily with the extreme conditions.
Tel: 0845 601 5111 Email:
marketing@dimplex.co.uk www.dimplex.co.uk
SUSTAINABLE FM | APRIL 2011 |17
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