Scottish retailers help design reverse vending machine
Equipment manufacturer TOMRA has designed a machine following feedback from Scottish retailers.
The producer plans to release the TOMRA M1 before the Scottish Government officially launches a deposit return scheme (DRS), which is expected in 2021.
Truls Haug, managing director for TOMRA Collection Solutions UK & Ireland, said: “We are extremely proud of the TOMRA M1 which was born out of visits to Scottish stores alongside retailers.
“It has been specially designed with smaller retailers in mind. We asked store owners about any concerns they had about participating in a deposit return scheme and there were two in particular – space and cost.
“As a result, the TOMRA M1 concept is space efficient; it can handle all three materials that are likely to be included in the Scottish DRS system – glass, PET bottles and cans – and it does so for an affordable price.”
The machine was previewed at the Scottish Grocers’ Federation Conference in Glasgow in October, an industry event attended by more than 400 delegates.
Founded in 1972, TOMRA collects aluminium, plastic and glass beverage containers in its reverse vending machines to be reused and recycled.
BooBoo Plant Hire buys remote-control compact loader
A fleet of Bobcat machines including a remote-control compact loader has been purchased by BooBoo Plant Hire, a supplier of specialist equipment to the demolition industry.
Claimed by Bobcat to be the first of its kind in the UK, the S450 skid-steer loader allows the operator to leave the seat in the cab of the vehicle and control it remotely.
The remote-control kit is intended to increase safety, comfort and productivity on site by distancing the operator from dust, noise, vibrations and other hazards.
Harry Allen, owner of BooBoo Plant Hire, said: “With the number of injuries on sites increasing again, maintaining maximum safety is paramount.
“I believe remote control is the way to go in the future in our industry – it’s a no-brainer really.”
Bobcat says remote control also allows operators to handle dangerous or toxic materials from a safe distance, minimising the risk of exposure.
The kit is compatible with any Bobcat skid-steer, compact track or wheel steer loader equipped with the company’s selectable joystick controls.
BooBoo Plant Hire’s S450 has been immediately put to work on the top-down demolition of a former wing of the Whittington Hospital in Upper Holloway in North London.
Mobile eddy current separator bought by Steelage Czech Republic
Industrial services provider Steelage Holding Eastern Europe has purchased a mobile eddy current separator to improve its extraction of ferrous and non-ferrous metals from shredder sand.
The caterpillar-mounted machine was designed by Dutch industrial equipment supplier TRS BV, which says the separator allows for the extraction of additional metals that otherwise never would have been processed.
Jörgen Sassen, general manager of Steelage Czech Republic, said that due to ever-increasing legislation and measures regarding recycling, such as the ban on the export of waste to China, companies needed to explore different recycling streams.
He said: “That means that sometimes you need to go to places that are hard-to-reach. And you have to recover the added value locally, in this particular case the non-ferrous metals.”
Steelage Holding Eastern Europe is based in Slovakia and is itself subsidiary of the TSR Group.
The separator is to be used by the company’s Czech wing.
Bywaters adopts software management system in bid to go paper-free
London-based recycling and waste management company Bywaters gone almost entirely paper-free after adopting the PurGo software management system.
Designed by VWS Software Solutions, the system manages all Bywaters’ waste collection and management processes end-to-end.
It allows customers access to information including the name of their driver, the type of vehicle, the time they arrived on site and the amount of waste collected.
Kelly Geraldo, Bywaters’ IT applications manager, said: “This is some of the most state-of-the-art software available. We are very pleased with how it is working and it is enabling cost savings because we can work more efficiently and effectively – which is beneficial to ourselves and our customers.”
Adopting the system has led to the reduction and near eradication of paperwork at the company.
Ms Geraldo said: “The system has already reduced our stationary costs. Now there is no paper waste, only emails, which is in keeping with Bywaters’ commitment to sustainability.”
PurGo integrates with Bywaters’ other business systems, including the bin-weighing systems fitted to its 24 refuse collection vehicles.
Craig Gregory, associate director of Bywaters, said: “PurGo is proving to be a very robust, easy to use system. It integrates well with our bin weighing and other business systems, and we are using it to run our business very effectively.”
Register for free to comment