The line, which includes state-of-the-art optical sorting machinery, automatically sorts steel and aluminium cans as well as three types of plastic bottle.
” Most of our plastic is exported, but we are hoping that can change. “
– Mary Corin, Grosvenor Waste Management
The project received a 250,000 grant from the London Recycling Fund, while remaining finance was provided by Barclays Asset Finance.
The new line can remove contamination including paper and glass from plastic bottles and cans. It has overband magnet systems and eddy current separators to sort steel and aluminium cans, and two TiTech Coloursort units to sort plastic bottles into four grades.
The TiTech machines use optical systems to identify PET clear bottles, PET mixed bottles, HDPE natural bottles and mixed plastics.
Separated materials are then subject to quality controls and are automatically baled.
The new line was installed by O'Kay Engineering, and can process about five tonnes of cans and 3.5 tonnes of plastic bottles every hour. Grosvenor believes it has an annual capacity to sort about 25,000 tonnes of cans and bottles, with a purity rate above 95% for HDPE natural and PET clear plastics.
Markets
Mary Corin, Grosvenor's director of recycling development, is hoping the new system will help Grosvenor to find more local markets for its recyclable materials.
Ms Corin said: “This new technology not only further improves the quality of plastic grades but also increases the stability of the volatile market for mixed plastic. We are optimistic that, as one of the largest UK plastic bottle processors, we will also help open up proposed new local markets for PET and HDPE manufacturing.”
Cans sorted by the new plant go to metal recyclers AMG and EMR, but for the most part plastic bottles from the Crayford MRF are exported abroad for recycling.
Ms Corin said: “Most of our plastic is exported, but we are hoping that can change – we are in discussions with local reprocessors about them.”
London
With the funding provided by the London Recycling Fund, Ms Corin said London boroughs would have some priority in any capacity available at the MRF. The fund is managed by London Waste Action and supported by the London Development Agency.
Colin Roberts, chief executive of London Waste Action, said: “Recycling plastics in London has taken an important step forward with the commissioning of this new facility. The automated sorting facility generates separated plastic streams which can be used by local markets, creating opportunities for local closed loop recycling.”
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Delivery
Grosvenor is expecting to invest a further 450,000 in coming months in new conveyor belts to help improve the delivery of material into its new plastics and can sorting line.
The company told letsrecycle.com that the improved delivery system would improve material quality and the efficiency of loading as well as cutting vehicle movements – giving an added bonus to health and safety at the Crayford site.
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