Grundon has also increased the plant's sorting capacity for all recyclables following the £2 million upgrade at the facility at the Randalls Road CA site near Leatherhead.
The Reading-based company expects to process around 2,000 tonnes of glass from mixed material each year, while the overall materials capacity for the plant has risen from 20,000 to around 35,000 tonnes a year including paper, cardboard, cans and plastic bottles.
Equipment at the plant includes a pre-sorting cabin, eddy current separators and a series of screens which break the glass into smaller particles and separate it from the other material.
Air separators blow material such as paper from the glass before it is packed loosely into 40ft containers and transported to Days Aggregates in nearby Redhill, Surrey, where it is processed for use in applications such as road fill.
The MRF, which originally cost £3m to build and was opened in April 2005, shut down for around five weeks in October for refitting. During this time, the recyclables collected from the three councils were transferred to Grundon's MRF in Colnbrook, Slough – which has also accepts glass (see letsrecycle.com story).
A spokesman for the company explained: “Using the latest technology, the MRF is believed to be the most advanced facility of its kind in Surrey. In addition, customers in Surrey are now able to include glass in their mixed recyclables, which represents a major step forward in helping Mole Valley and neighbouring councils to meet their ambitious recycling targets.”
Council targets
Mole Valley expects that glass collection will boost its recycling/composting rate by around 2-3% on its present level of 45%.
Environment councillor Bryan Davis said: “We are committed to diverting as much waste as possible from landfill and glass recycling will assist the council in meeting its recycling targets, as well as reducing landfill costs.
“On average every family in the UK uses around 330 glass bottles and jars but only recycles 30% of these. The kerbside glass collection will enable more residents to recycle glass, as it will be collected from the convenience of their homes.”
The councils are charged a gate fee of around £40 per tonne of mixed material at the MRF. Paper and cardboard is exported to Holland, metals to the UK and Belgium, while plastics and glass remain in the UK.
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