Swansea keeps it clean with new paper recycling facility

In an effort to keep recovered paper clean enough to sell to reprocessors, the council has dedicated the new bulking facility to the management of recovered paper only.

Swansea officer Roy Probert, Chris White of Aylesford Newsprint, Swansea officer Trish Flint, Councillor John Hague, Karen Newell of Aylesford Newsprint and Martin Jones of Swansea City Waste Disposal Ltd at the opening of the new paper recycling facility.

Built on a site at the Swansea Baling plant, the new facility is managed by Swansea City Waste Disposal Company Ltd and can hold up to 750 tonnes of recovered paper.

Swansea cabinet member for the environment, Cllr John Hague, said: “We were conscious that recovered paper has become a resource rather than waste. It has become more important than ever to us as an authority to ensure our markets for this resource and that means keeping the material as clean, dry and contaminant-free as possible.

“Trying to sort all of the materials that we recycle from one depot inevitably leads to some degree of contamination so by building a dedicated paper bulking facility we have overcome this problem,” Cllr Hague said.

Aylesford
The facility was designed and built as the result of a contract with recycled newsprint manufacturer Aylesford Newsprint, taking 18 months to complete.

Aylesford have highlighted the quality improvements the new facility will mean, keeping contamination of recycled paper to a minimum because it handles only recovered paper.

Commenting on the successful completion of the project, Chris White, commercial manager for Aylesford Newsprint, said: “The quality of recyclable materials is an extremely important issue. As the UK’s proportion of waste being recycled increases it is important that we address this issue to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities available.

Mr White went on: “This is not a time to cut corners and look for the quick opportunity. It is a time to put systems in place to ensure that we move forward in a structured and progressive manner.”