Factory focus Waste management & recycling Waging war on factory waste
From contaminated rags and wipes, to solvents, hazardous chemicals, out-of-date stock, unwanted production equipment and redundant electrical items – the sheer volume of waste which needs to be disposed of from factories and manufacturing premises is huge. All the more reason then, why it makes sense to work with experts who can not only advise on how to keep up with the latest legislation, but also help to keep costs down by diverting from landfill and increasing recycling. Chris Edwards of Grundon Waste Management has some expert advice on this subject
E
dwards says businesses could do more to improve waste manage- ment and recycling if they recog- nised opportunities available.
“All factory outlets produce
hazardous wastes and our goal is to show them how much more they could either divert from landfill and/or recycle. We operate a high temperature incinerator where we incinerate various assorted hazardous wastes and in the process create elec- tricity which goes into the National Grid,” says Edwards. Over the last three years, the nearly
30-strong team in Grundon’s technical department – the majority of whom are degree-qualified chemists – have successfully cut the amount of clients’ technical waste going to landfill from 25 per cent in 2009 to 4.6 per cent in 2012. At the same time, materials sent for recycling have increased from 23.5 per cent to 42.6 per cent. Recently the company has invested
in expanding its state-of-the-art Hazardous Waste Transfer Station at Ewelme in Oxfordshire. There, as waste arrives, it is screened by a team of experienced reception chemists, who undertake a combination of visual checks and chemical screening before segregating, reprocessing (as necessary) and repackaging it for recy- cling, treatment or disposal. Part of the development has
included a new aerosol decommis- sioning and recycling facility called HazPak, which is due to open in late 2013. One of only two plants in the UK to offer Best Available Technology (BAT) for the disposal of waste aerosols, it crushes and compacts the aerosol cans, separating out the respective materials and contents for total recovery and recycling. “The new HazPak plant, which also
enables us to de-package containers of products such as paint, means we will be able to do in an hour what currently
Factory Equipment SEPTEMBER 2013
takes us all day,” according to Edwards. Edwards says: “Our greatest
challenge is convincing people that the waste they produce actually falls into the technical and hazardous waste categories. “Very often customers will mix
items such as batteries, printer cartridges or oily rags within their general waste, which is not only against disposal regulations but also means they are paying a premium price to send it to landfill. “They would benefit from taking a
more responsible approach, not only to comply with legislation but also because recycling is a more cost effec- tive and environmentally friendly method of disposal. We can assess requirements and recommend the steps they need to take to manage waste needs in one simple solution.” The ability to provide detailed
analysis and statistics means cus- tomers have the essential corporate reporting information they need at their fingertips. The range of materials that can be recycled include: • Oily rags/wipes • Paint/ink/oil/solvents and other flammable materials
• Contaminated or redundant packag- ing and stock
• WEEE equipment • Fluorescent tubes • Redundant fire extinguishers • Batteries • Asbestos • Chemical/ hazardous/toxic waste • Liquid waste A series of dedicated storage bins
and containers includes the 800-litre lockable Grunsafe for a variety of waste streams; the Chemsafe for on- site storage of chemicals in drums or cans; and a Haz-Box service for com- panies who only have a small amount of such waste to dispose of. The team not only consults with
Used aerosol cans can be crushed and compacted separating out the respective materi- als and contents for total recovery and recycling
Top left: A specially designed fleet allows a variety of different containers to be collected in one trip
clients to find the best solutions, but also works to carefully co-ordinate waste collections, ensuring its staff supervise the transfer of waste from secure storage to the collection vehi- cles and complete the necessary legal paperwork. A specially-designed fleet of vehi-
cles and ADR-qualified drivers allows a variety of different containers to be collected in one trip. This keeps costs down, reduces vehicle emissions and streamlines the collection process for clients. Gundon Waste Management
www.grundon.com T: 01491 834340
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