Waste management company SITA contracted Plastics Recovery, a Lancashire based plastics recycling business, to collect and sort the plastic waste collected at its 23 sites across the county. They are then taken to Plastic Recovery's new site in Preston.
Plastics Recovery moved into the new site at the beginning of December which will allow it to cope with increased volumes of plastic waste as well as being able to tackle mixed plastic waste.
Phil Strutt, managing director of Plastics Recovery Limited, explained: “Our new 50,000 square feet automated plastic sorting facility, incorporating the very latest 'magic eye' plastic sorting system, will enable us to accept high volumes of mixed bottles types.
“They will be automatically loaded, and scanned, segregated, shredded and baled in a matter of minutes, giving us the capacity to handle in excess of 4,000 tonnes of plastic bottles per month.”
The equipment is supplied by O.Kay Engineering and Norwegian company TiTech. The magic eye system uses high-resolution colour cameras to analyse each object according to optical criteria including shapes, colours, textures, and images. The plant has the ability to sort waste at a rate of 50 objects per second.
Scheme
The scheme, which started in April 2004 following a trial period in 2002/03, covers mixed plastic waste in the form of PET, PVC and HDPE bottles and containers. Approximately 36 tonnes of mixed plastic waste is collected each month. Over the course of 2004 Plastics Recovery has also begun collecting cans and cardboard for Lancashire county council as well.
Harold Council, contracts manager for SITA said: “It is imperative that in waste recovery sites with multiple waste streams from wood and paper to oil and hardcore that SITA works closely with professional waste handling companies. Plastics Recovery specialises in the collection and recycling of plastic and as a local firm with an excellent reputation we were keen to work with them on this scheme.
“Their knowledge and experience in handling and recycling other materials such cardboard and cans has also been extremely useful for us in ensuring continued high levels of service offered to Lancashire county council and the people of Lancashire who use these sites.”
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