The opening ceremony for the Greenbank Recycling Solutions compactor marks the start of a trial at two recycling centres the authority runs, in Waltham Forest and Barnet.
As part of the trial, the Greenbank Cobalt SC1100 compactor has been installed at the two facilities. Operatives will load separated polystyrene into the compactor, and the compacted material will then be collected and transported for use by Greenbank, for use in the furniture and insulation sectors in the UK and Europe.
Baling the material would mean more polystyrene can be transported at any one time, saving the authority on costs. Recycling the material this way is also significantly cheaper and more environmentally friendly than alternative disposal routes.
The trial means that from today, the NLWA can now accept 29 waste streams at its recycling centres including polystyrene and mattresses.
Recycling
Speaking at the opening of the ceremony today before cutting the ribbon on the compactor, Cllr Clyde Loakes, chair of the NLWA, said: “Though highly practical, polystyrene is a difficult material to process at the end of its life due to its light weight and bulky nature, which makes it unsustainable to transport in large quantities. It is made up of 98% air but with a remaining 2% that is very high in carbon; this should make recycling the first option before energy recovery, which is how it is most often treated. Recycling also reduces the use of fossil fuels and CFCs used in its production.
“The average household produces about 40kg of polystyrene waste a year, and the UK total disposed of annually is a staggering 10,000 tonnes. Seeking to lessen the impact that polystyrene has on the environment and our local councils, we met with the British Plastics Federation last year and they put us in touch with Greenbank Recycling solutions. Together with LondonEnergy’s support, we came up with the idea of the recycling trial we’re launching today, which I’m very proud to say, is the first of its kind in London”.
Trail
The NLWA says the trial is the result of a partnership between NLWA, the company it wholly owns, LondonEnergy Ltd, the British Plastics Federation and Greenbank Recycling Solutions. The latter is providing on-site compactors and managing the onward processing of the material.
Cllr Loakes added: “We are delighted to be able to add expanded polystyrene to the extensive range of recycling services in north London. While it’s essential that more is done to prevent waste in the first place, there remains an important role for recycling. NLWA and its partners continue to seek opportunities to manage resources in a more circular way and extract maximum value out of all the materials we receive”.
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