We are absolutely flat out at the MRF – it is running 24 hours a day five days a week and we are selling everything
Ian Wakelin, Greenstar UK
Ian Wakelin, who heads up Greenstar UK, claims that the link which has been made between commingled collections and poor quality material for which there is no market is only true if it is sorted in a “poor” materials recycling facility.
And, Mr Wakelin said that his company was having no problem moving material from its modern MRF at Aldridge, outside Birmingham, because it used the latest technology to sort it.
The comments come following claims by both the Confederation of Paper Industries and Campaign for Real Recycling that collecting materials commingled made them harder to sell (see letsrecycle.com story).
Mr Wakelin said: “The suggestion that material is just not moving has been seriously exaggerated. Before Christmas it was difficult to move most materials. From mid December we have been seeing everything moving. There's no paper mountain at Greenstar, no steel mountain or anything. People that are not moving material must be people that are producing such a low quality product.”
“The problem is not commingled collections. The problem is some poor MRFs which need to be upgraded. It's like throwing the baby out with the bath water”, he added.
CCIC
As testament to the quality of material produced at Aldridge, Mr Wakelin revealed that the MRF had been awarded accreditation by China's recycling quality inspection agency, known as CCIC – enabling it to sell material to the country.
He said: “To get CCIC accreditation is rare for a MRF handling domestically sourced material. It's an incredibly difficult thing to get and the fact that a MRF has got that is testament that good quality material is coming out. We are absolutely flat out at the MRF – it is running 24 hours a day five days a week and we are selling everything.”
Mr Wakelin added that the company was experiencing no particular problems despite difficulties experienced in the Irish recycling market, where its parent firm is based (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said: “No, absolutely none. Times are tough but no.”
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