News in Brief

Somerset waste company Wyvern is commissioning a new rotary in-vessel composting facility at its Dimmer landfill site.

Andar’s Rotocom Rotary System works on a continuous flow basis with shredded waste fed into a horizontal drum

The pilot facility is the first in the UK to be designed by New Zealand company Andar Environmental and will turn commercial food waste collected locally into compost that can be sold back to farmers and gardeners.

Andrew Olie, Wyvern's managing director, said: “At Wyvern we pride ourselves in trying to find innovative new ways of dealing with waste, recycling it wherever possible. This is an exciting new concept which I know will be watched with great interest by many people.”

Andar’s Rotocom Rotary System works on a continuous flow basis with shredded waste fed into the massive horizontal drum, which slowly rotates with a counter-current air flow system aiding the composting process.

Augean plc – the hazardous waste management firm formed last year by two key figures from WRG – has moved into the pre-treatment business with a new acquisition.

The company has acquired the entire issued share capital of West Midlands hazardous waste treatment firm Proactive Waste Solutions for 8 million in cash.

Augean, which acquired two hazardous waste disposal businesses last year (see letsrecycle.com story), said the latest move fits in with its &#39b;uy and build' strategy to supply customers with complete hazardous waste solutions.

Proactive has a licensed site in Cannock, covering about 4,500 square metres. The site is to be developed with a 1 million new treatment plant being installed to expand the range and tonnage of material that can be treated prior to disposal at a hazardous waste landfill facility.

The quality of aluminium recycled by waste management company Yorwaste will now be even higher following the receipt of a new, state-of-the-art, separation system.

Kathryn Whittaker of Novelis with Yorwaste's John Miller celebrating the new can recycling equipment

A new eddy current separator has been provided by Novelis, the world’s largest recycler of aluminium cans. It will work alongside magnetic sorting equipment at Yorwaste’s materials recycling facility, near York.

It works by electrically charging the cans that are then passed over a magnetised belt. This causes a reaction that throws the aluminium cans clear of the steel ones.

Yorwaste Recycling & External Affairs Manager, John Miller, said: “Because the Eddy Current Separator divides the two types of cans, it means the quality of recycled aluminium is exceptionally high and it is therefore a better product to sell back to reprocessers.”

Yorwaste recycles over 80 tonnes of aluminium cans from the York and North Yorkshire areas at its MRF. Over the last five years, the company has doubled the amount of waste it handles and broke the million tonne mark for the first time last year.

Plastic Omnium has won a contract with south east-based recycling company F&R; Cawley to supply a variety of plastic containers.

The Telford-based company will supply 1,100 litre flat lid containers on an ongoing basis to F&R; Cawley’s sites at Milton Keynes, Wellingborough and its head office in Luton.

Tony Goodman, F&R; Cawley’s sales director, explained: “Plastic Omnium has supplied our plastic 1,100 litre bins in the past and the feedback from customers has been very good, so it makes sense to continue using the products.

“We’re also increasingly aware of the musculoskeletal injury risks associated with heavier, metal bins – plastic containers create a better environment for our people to operate in,” he added.