Midlands wood recycler awarded 1.2 million for expansion

The Midlands company, currently based at Brandon Way in West Bromwich, currently recycles around 40,000 tonnes of packaging wood waste each year. But with the expansion, this is likely to increase to 100,000 tonnes, said the company.

The move will allow West Bromwich Pallets, which produces sports and play surfaces; landscaping mulch, and animal bedding, to accept waste wood from more interested suppliers. Anne Gifford, company secretary, said that the expansion would relieve the “long waiting list of customers needing somewhere reasonably priced to dispose of their wood”.

The company has stumped up 3.3 million itself for the expansion, while development agency – Advantage West Midlands – has contributed 1.2 million towards the move to a purpose built site at Kelvin Way.

Advantage West Midlands director for the Black Country, David Blake, said: “West Bromwich Pallets is a shining example of an environmentally friendly company which is on the up. Demand for projects such as Enviromulch (the umbrella name for the surfacing business) is increasing rapidly and clearly the company needs to expand onto new premises if it is to fulfil its potential.”

Feedstock variation

The business has been given an extra boost with additional funding of just over 100,000 from WRAP – through its Regional Development Fund – to encourage the company to vary its feedstock.

Mrs Gifford said: “We take waste wood pallets from all over the West Midlands at the moment from a variety of businesses, including from blue chip companies. The WRAP money is to assist us in taking a wider variety of wood, such as contaminated materials from demolition projects and civic amenity sites.”

The new site will feature a dual operational wood reprocessing facility to grind and blend wood into the mulch products. “The dual system will be of real benefit, because it means we do not have to stop working if one of the machines breaks down,” explained Mrs Gifford.

West Bromwich Pallets previously accepted waste wood free of charge, but the cost of the move and the inputting of a weighbridge and extra staff, means it will now charge around 8 a tonne to accept waste wood.