Powerday awarded two West London contracts

London-based recycling firm, Powerday, is set to extend its black bag waste treatment trial for the West London Waste Authority (WLWA) and has also won a contract to process construction waste from Heathrow Airport.

The trial, which began in November 2009, and saw Powerday sort 150 tonnes of municipal black bag waste a week, ended earlier this year but has been reinstated thanks to the high recycling rates achieved.

The waste is collected by WRG and taken to a bulking station in West London before being transported to Powerday's materials recycling facility (MRF) at Old Oak Sidings, in Willesden Junction. The MRF processes and separates the material using a combination of technologies including; overband magnets, trommels, shredders, eddy currents and high speed optical sorting equipment.

Any residue left over once the material has gone through the MRF is re-used as renewable fuel as part of Powerday's commitment to reduce waste to landfill.

The trial will now run into next year and 500 tonnes a week will be processed.

Jim Brennan, director of the WLWA, said: “West London residents are achieving some of the highest recycling rates in London. The trial with WRG and Powerday enabled us to quickly improve recycling rates for those residents, particularly in flats, where source separated recycling services are more difficult and expensive to provide.

“Our boroughs are very pleased with the results and we have increased the quantity of waste treated by the partnership arrangement to 500 tonnes per week for the rest of the year.”

Simon Little, sales and marketing director of Powerday, said: “With our location and facilities, Powerday is perfectly positioned to help WLWA increase its recycling rates further and we are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to do so”.

Heathrow Airport

In addition to its work with the West London Waste Authority the company has also secured a contract to process an estimated 20,000 tonnes-a-year of construction waste from Heathrow Airport from logistics and construction consultancy, Wilson James.

Wilson James is working with airport operator, BAA, to develop and improve Heathrow Airport's facilities and will be overseeing construction of the new Terminal Two. Powerday will collect the waste from this operation and also handle the hazardous waste from welfare facilities on the site.

The waste is set to be treated in the short-term at Powerday's MRF, at Old Oak Sidings. However it is hoped that in future it will be sent to Powerday's site in West Drayton, which is close to the airport in the London borough of Hillingdon.

Powerday is hoping to build a £30 million pound MRF at the West Drayton site but is currently awaiting planning permission to begin construction (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Little, said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious contract. We already have 75 bins onsite and our Contract Support Team is working closely with Wilson James to deliver a first class service package.”

Robin Moore, head of construction and logistics integration at Wilson James, said the company was very pleased to be working with Powerday at Heathrow.

He said: “Its unparalleled environmental performance and 24 hour, seven day a week operational capability will allow us to deliver the high level of service needed to support the projects on Heathrow, which is one of the country's most important and fragile economic assets.”