Berryman looks to set up multi-material collections

Speaking earlier this week at the Recycling Advisory Group Scotland (RAGS) seminar in Falkirk, Mick Keogh general manager of Berrryman explained the company's plans which would increase the amount of glass collected and help meet the proposed glass recycling targets of 75% by 2006.

Mr Keogh said: “Bottle banks are the cheapest way to collect glass but we need kerbside to reach government targets and are currently looking at ways to treble the collection rate.” Mr Keogh drew on the Australian experience where kerbside collections of glass, metals, plastics and paper, have resulted in a glass recovery rate of 80%.

Currently many local authorities are relucant to start glass kerbside schemes because of the cost and because of contamination with co-mingled materials. But Berryman says it will fund and operate recycling collections for councils, providing it has a long-term contract and has access to a “viable number of households”. Berryman will work alongside the existing bring schemes in the area.

Under the initiative, Berryman will collect paper, plastics, glass and metal and will be responsible for finding markets for all recyclable materials. The company would also buy back existing refuse bins from the council and replace them with 120 litre refuse bins and bins for recycables.

The recyclables will either be collected weekly in four 60 litre boxes or in a 240 litre split bin with paper one side and glass, metals and plastics the other. Non-recyclable waste will be collected in a 120 litre bin and there will be a separate collection of green waste.

Plastics, glass and metal will be collected co-mingled and will be taken to a Berryman plant for sorting. Paper will be kept separate from the other materials. The company is calling its recycling facility the Berrryman Environmental Container Operation (BECO), which will be similar to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).

Mr Keogh said: “The BECO will be a low capital MRF. We are calling it a BECO because we want to move away from the idea that a MRF is not profitable.”