The company is halfway through a trial of the mobile shredding project, which was funded by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (see letsrecycle.com story).
 Plastic fish cages lie waiting to be processed by the truck-borne mobile shredding unit |
The service has been championed by the fish farm industry, which has previously had trouble disposing of its cages because many sites are situated in remote locations, with bulky plastic items are expensive to transport.
Axion's mobile shredder has been grinding the cages up at the farm sites, ensuring that the volume that is moved is far greater – this can then be recycled into new products for the industry.
The mobile shredder has been specially designed to handle rigid plastic material – the company has set itself the target of recycling 100 tonnes of plastic every month.
One company that has benefited from the service has been Oban-based fish farm equipment specialist Fusion Marine.
“Waiting”
Stephen Divers, managing director at Fusion Marine, said: “We have been waiting for something like this for over 10 years. Many fish farmers are now looking to use larger and stronger cages and also to have safety decking fitted so as to meet Health and Safety guidelines.
“By recycling old cages, many of which are just left lying by the shores throughout the Highlands and Islands, we are contributing to a better environment,” he added.
Axion has attached a shredding facility to the back of a curtain lorry, it is able to travel to sites and shred the material before transporting them for recycling. This cuts down the volume that needs to be transported and allows previously unrecyclable products to be dealt with.
John Sidebottom, Axion Recycling's sales manager, said: “Our ability to shred the waste plastic on site makes the recovery of this valuable material for recycling cost effective. It is also an environmentally friendly way of removing abandoned cage systems that would otherwise be left to blight the landscape.”
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