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Spanish eyes: An eco solution in Cadiz


A composting plant in the Spanish city of Cadiz built in the 1970s and boasting an outdated infrastructure has been turned into the largest waste transfer station in Europe serving the needs of a modern European city. Timothy Byrne reports.


Tim Byrne Freelance writer


C


ADIZ LIES between the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines on the South West coast of Spain. As well as being one of the key Spanish cities,


historically it was home to the fleet of ships used in the Spanish Armada in 1588. Waste management in this region has


caused problems in recent years. Previously a composting plant owned by the Bay of Cadiz Consortium, it treated waste from the cities of Cadiz and San Fernando and turned the waste into fertiliser. The plant had been operational since 1972 and in 1992 a decision was made to close the composting lines because the plant was outdated. Following this, the building became a waste


transfer station. Waste collection vehicles deposited their loads here and the waste was loaded onto open top walking floor trailers. Due to the inefficient use of the airspace


in these trailers, their carrying capacity was uneconomic to transport municipal waste to the waste treatment centre at Miramundo that is 40km from Cadiz. Because of this problem, roll on off containers replaced the walking floor trailers. A drawbar roll on off with trailer could transport two containers to Miramundo, however, a problem arose. Because the waste in the open top roll on off


containers was not compacted the maximum desirable tonnages could not be transported to the treatment facility. This interfered with the management of the


waste transfer station and increased pollution in the city, as the transfer vehicles had to make 18–20 trips a day to Miramundo.


22 October 27 2011


Reviewing the situation The regional waste management plan for the province was reviewed which concluded the need to build a waste transfer station to process 110,000 tonnes of waste a year produced by the two cities. A contract was signed with Geesink Norba


Spain and the Cadiz municipalities to build a waste transfer station. Geesink Norba Spain came up with a long term sustainable solution. They supplied two of their Kiggen PD125/20 1 compactors which ensure a combined hourly throughput of 250 tonnes. Waste collection is carried out in Cadiz by


Sufi and in San Fernando by Urbaser. They use 22cu m rear loading waste collection vehicles and side loading vehicles of 25cu m capacity. The design of the plant was based around each Kiggen compactor being able to handle a full 11/12 tonne load from these collection vehicles every four minutes without interfering with the operations of the waste collection services.


Waste collections The waste collection service is carried out in Cadiz and San Fernando from midnight to 3am seven days a week, 365 days a year. During the night, four waste collection vehicles arrive at the waste transfer station every fifteen minutes to empty their load. The vehicles drive to one of the two static


compactors, the driver being informed at the weighbridge at which compactor to discharge his load. In the design phase of the facility, Geesink


Norba Spain constructed the unloading apertures to both compactors of 70cu m capacity. This was to handle a large number of waste collection vehicles arriving at the waste transfer station together.


www. r e c y c l i n gwa s t ewo r l d . c o . u k The large hopper allows two waste collection


vehicles to discharge their loads simultaneously into the unloading aperture, preventing waste collection vehicles having to queue up to empty their loads. Once the waste collection vehicles have


discharged their loads, the Kiggen compactors compress the waste into hermetically sealed roll on off containers. To make sure that the maximum load density is achieved, the Kiggen PD125/20 1 will penetrate the inside of the container so that the container can be sealed for transport to Miramundo. Once a container is full, the side arms that


hold the container in position while compaction takes place are released. The container is lowered onto the traverse-moving frame and moved to the container collection area. A fresh container is fitted to the compactor for the loading cycle to recommence.


Sustainable solutions The construction of the new waste transfer station has given the Cadiz municipalities a sustainable solution for the transport of their municipal waste for reprocessing. As well as this, the plant has improved the surrounding environment in many ways, for example, once the waste is delivered it is instantly compacted into air-tight containers preventing odours which would otherwise be noticeable in the Mediterranean climate. Another example of this is a dust collection


system in the unloading area, which protects the environment and human health. Finally, a liquid extraction system has been


constructed to collect and contain any liquids that may arise from the compaction process. This prevents liquids leaking into the watercourse as well as preventing foul odours.


RWW Recycling & WA S T E W O R L D


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