Established in 1972, the company traces back its routes to its origins as a construction business which found its bills for skip hire and waste disposal grew as fast as the business did.
The company is now solely a waste management company running 18 vehicles and employing around 30 people.
The new site is about 10 miles from Cardiff and about 15 miles form the largest landfill site in the area at Merthyr Tydfil.
Amber’s facilities are now called “The Recycling Centre”.
Speaking for the company, Jay Jones said that so far there are no picking lines. “We sort the waste manually with the aid of a Case loading shovel, one Case skid steer loader and a Poclain grab.”
Equipment includes a static compactor made by Anchorpac, a new baler supplied by ACM and a cable granulator to be supplied shortly by Engineering Services, Bridgend.
Although the business premises have been named
the site as “The Recycling Centre”, the company sees it as a waste minimisation station, rather than a transfer station or materials recycling facility.
Waste minimisation
Mr Jones explained: “We see it as a waste minimisation station not a transfer station or a mrf. This is because we don't just sort and treat wastes to be recycled, we also treat them so they can go to landfill in the correct manner.
“For instance we get a lot of mixed builders waste –
hardcore, soil, wood, plasterboard, etc. all mixed in together, and we separate the inert from the active waste so even if it all goes to landfill it goes at the correct rate of tax.”
He added: “Also a transfer station is traditionally a place for bulking up waste prior to landfill, a MRF usually receives pre-separated waste streams. We mainly bring in mixed waste usually destined for landfill which we sort and separate it into recyclable or reusable materials. The remaining waste destined for landfill is then compacted after any inert waste has been removed, therefore – waste minimisation.”
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