The in-vessel facility is licensed to take 50,000 tonnes of waste per annum, which should be converted into around 30,000 tonnes of compost. There are 16 vessels in total, used in two phases, or “barriers”, of operation. Each vessel has a capacity for 150 tonnes of waste.
The two barrier system means that the site is capable of dealing with animal by products, a single barrier system by law would not be able to accept catering waste due to risk of contamination. WLC have also brought in a Komptech Crambo shredder which will process the waste before it is taken to the first barrier of the in-vessel system.
Managing director Martin Grundon visited sites in Germany and Austria to look at composting technologies and has used the knowledge in many of the facilities the Ruislip site uses. Mr Grundon said: “Compost recycling on the mainland is more advanced, they put more money into recycling so they can afford to pay for more impressive machinery. This site is modelled on European sites.”
Reception
One idea that has come from Europe is the “reception” for trucks dropping off waste, a system used in composting facilities in Munich. The reception is a raised area leading to a pit which the dustcarts push the waste into, it allows the vehicles to dump their waste without driving into the already deposited material. This saves time when washing the trucks down afterwards and is less of a health and safety risk, WLC believe.
Each vehicle that enters the site will have an average turnaround time of about five minutes and the company doesn't believe that the increased amount of waste they hope to receive will have a huge effect on this. Mr Grundon said: “We have a contingency plan if we receive multiple vehicles at once, we can bring them in next door to the reception, they will just take slightly longer to clean.”
WLC are also planning to open a learning centre for local schools and colleges. Once it is open the company would invite schools along to look around and learn about composting. Mr Grundon explained that it is something the company would like to do and the centre should be up and running in the next year.
The company have already announced a contract with Hillingdon council to supply material for the facility (see letsrecycle.com story), and revealed to letsrecycle.com yesterday that they have now signed a six-month contract with Brent council to take their green waste. Also in attendance at the opening were representatives from Harrow and Ealing councils, both of whom are thought to be interested in using the site.
Subscribe for free