De-Pack Ltd, which was launched in April 2004 by Brian Mulholland, Catherine Crouch and Martin Snaith, is aiming to carve a niche in the recycling of aerosols and paints. Under the Landfill Directive, these can no longer be sent for disposal without some form of pre-treatment.
”The difference between this process and shredding is that shredders allow the gas to go into the atmosphere “
– Brian Mulholland, sales and marketing director
The company hopes its 800,000 facility on a site in Burton-on-the-Wold, Leicestershire, will be able to begin operations in April this year, with the capacity to recycle 17,500 tonnes of waste each year. This is based on a low number of shifts and there would be the potential to increase the tonnage if the demand was there, the company said.
The machinery used to recycle the materials has been provided by a Canadian environmental technology company, De-pack says that it is the biggest piece of machinery of its kind in the world.
Nitrogen
The equipment uses a nitrogen blanket to crush aerosol containers and paint drums and then separates the contents, with metal removed for reprocessing and gases sent to incinerators as a replacement for diesel. Paints are used as substitute fuels in the cement making process.
Brian Mulholland, sales and marketing director, explained: “The difference between this process and shredding is that shredders allow the gas to go into the atmosphere. This contains it and allows us to recover it. The machinery will remove 98% of the contaminants from the metal.”
The company has said that it already has contracts lined up with manufacturers of aerosols and paints to take waste materials, as well as contracts with waste management firms to provide collection services. Mr Mulholland said that all that was required was for the machinery to be fully commissioned.
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