The partnership has been agreed following a trial to transport around 30-tonnes per week of mixed recyclables collected from Camden Market in north London to Powerday’s Material Recycling Facility (MRF) at Old Oak Sidings, Willesden Junction.
As part of this project, waste was collected from the 1,000 stalls and businesses operating at the London market and transported by barge along the Grand Union Canal to the MRF for sorting and processing. Camden Market will continue to use the service following the trial, the companies have said.
IRecycle
IRecycle is a newly formed company, set up in 2018, and describes itself as a waste management company which “primarily transports commercial waste via the canal and river network”. The company was founded by Elliot Lancaster, an entrepreneur whose former business interests include City West Support Services, an office cleaning company also based in the capital.
According to IRecycle, by transporting commercial waste using barges as well as using electric vehicles where road transport is necessary, companies can contribute to an improvement in the city’s air quality – which is a key target for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Under the terms of the new partnership with Powerday, IRecycle will operate the vessels which transport the material to the Willesden Junction site. For the material collected from Camden Market, the material moved one-third of the distance that it would travel by road, the companies claimed, taking around 45 minutes from the initial source.
IRecycle founder and chief executive Elliot Lancaster commented: “Working with Camden market, we have established a regular disposal service that, as well as utilising the famous Grand Union canal, also deploys a new electric powered collection vehicle for waste.
“This material is then transferred into barges to complete the short cruise to Powerday where the material will be processed, recyclable materials recovered and then any residue materials will be turned into a renewable fuel and supplied to energy from waste plants.
“This means that customers of this service will be able to see exactly where their materials go, the positive outcomes from it as well as knowing the transport used is the most efficient possible and importantly reduces the number of vehicle movements in the busiest areas of London often with a large number of pedestrians.”
Emissions
Commenting on the new service, Powerday’s sales & marketing director, Simon Little, said: “We have long been convinced of the benefits of this type of service and are really keen to support IRecycle in delivering this fantastic customer offer. London prides itself on setting clear direction on emissions, carbon reduction and utilising waste as a resource; and this new service combines all these elements of best practice.
“I hope that not only those generating commercial waste but also contractors generating construction waste will buy into this method.”
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