Do you want to recycle your tetra pak? But you don't know where to take it? Follow the link to find out where your nearest tetra pak recycling bank is

www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/locator.asp

• Register with the Mail Preference Service to stop receiving junk mail.www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/

• These websites above give lots more information on recycling, have fun facts and games for the kids. Give you lots of tips on how to make recycling a permanent part of your life, at home and at work.

www.recycle-more.co.uk/
www.recyclenow.com/
www.recycling-guide.org.uk/

• Follow the link for the Furniture Reuse Network.

www.frn.org.uk/donate.asp

• Register with Freecycle. You can put up messages for items wanted. You can also advertise items that are in good working condition that you no longer need. It's easy to use and the best thing is it's completely free!

www.freecycle.org/

• Want to find out more about energy?

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk

 

 

 

What happens to my recycling?

Ever wondered what happened to your recycling once its been collected from your recycling box? Nows your chance to find out, read on.

Plastic Bottles

We send all the plastic bottles to a company called Smurfitkappa. They are based in Preston. The plastic is then collected by a company based in the West Midlands and then taken to a re-processor for granulating and thus being returned into base plastic. There are three main types of plastic bottles HDPE, LDPE and PET it is then returned into the system as furniture, storage containers, car parts almost anything.

Cardboard

This is distributed within the Smurfitkappa group to be recycled into packaging material. Cardboard can be recycled approximately seven times until the organic fibres wear out and Smurfitkappa always recycle it into packaging material.

Textiles

Textiles are taken to our transfer station in Preston. When there is a suitable amount for collection, it is then collected by a company called James Robinson Fibres.

Food Waste

Food Waste is sent to Teg. They compost all the food waste using a In-Vessel composting facility.
The organic waste is off loaded into the waste reception area. The waste has to be reduced to a particle size of 12mm in one plane prior to loading. Gross contamination, such as plastics, glass and metal, would be removed at this stage.

Once chopping and mixing is complete, the material is fed directly onto an automated conveyor system. It is then transferred to a centralised conveyor running above the bank of cages. This in turn feeds a traversing shuttle conveyor which fills each silo cage. Feed is cut at the desired level by ultrasonic level detectors.

By a process of natural progression, the material descends through the cages. During the composting process the material passes through a range of temperature zones.

In order to meet EU ABP specifications the compost must reach and maintain a temperature of 70°C for at least one hour and the TEG system ensures that this is easily met and surpassed.

The design of the TEG technology ensures the process is completely natural with no need for forced aeration, mechanical turning or agitation. Not only is this more economical, it also minimises any risk of releasing bioaerosols or odour. In addition, the composting material
inside the silo cages acts as a natural bio-filter, further reducing odour risk.

Each silo cage is fitted with temperature sensors linked directly to a computer data-logger. Temperatures inside the cage are recorded and if temperatures should fall below the required limits an alarm system is triggered. The data logger can be accessed remotely and key warning alarms can be directed to mobile phones to ensure an instant response.

During composting the fresh material in the top layer is quickly heated by the material already in the cage. Microbial activity increases in the fresh material and it is also rapidly colonised by thermophilic micro-organisms from the lower layers. Each layer of material is in the silo cage for between 10 and 14 days.

An automated unloader removes material from the base of each silo cage to side conveyors, which carry the product to storage and maturation areas. Now the compost is ready, it can be taken away to its end market.

Paper

Paper is sent to a company called Holmen Paper at their mill in Shotton, Cheshire.

Once the recovered fibre reaches the mill it enters a process whereby it is de-inked and broken down to its natural fibrous state, virgin wood pulp is added and through the process of drying and pressing fresh newsprint is developed ready for distribution to the national and regional newspapers.

70% of the UK's newsprint is imported, the majority of which comes from Canada and Scandinavia. Holmen Paper's closed loop recycling imports 300,000 tonnes of newsprint per year using their own vessels, then return 150,000 tonnes of recovered fibre on the same vessels back to the mill for processing.

Glass

Once the glass is collected from your recycling box it is taken to the transfer station from here it gets collected by a company called Viridor who take it to a recycling facility in St Helens.

The mixed colours of bottles are tipped into a large bay ready for processing. A large loading shovel picks up about 3-4 tons at a time and tips it into a hopper were it travels along a conveyor belt removing metals and aluminium by using special magnets. The next stage on the conveyor is the removal of other contaminants i.e. wood, plastic bottles and bags and anything else that shouldn't be there, keeping a special lookout for any ceramics and Pyrex as these can cause major problems due to the higher melting temperature.

The glass bottles are then crushed to a size of 6.3mm, just like coarse grit.

The glass collected from Preston is then transported to Knauf Insulation in St Helens where it is melted down with various raw materials to make fibre glass insulation.

Glass fibre insulation plays a key role in energy conservation in buildings and industrial
process plant. Manufacturers of fibre glass can replace around 50% of their raw
materials with recycled glass, which leads to energy savings in the production process
and reduces the demand for quarried raw materials. The UK production of glass fibre
insulation is around 150,000 tonnes per year and currently all the glass fibre
manufacturers are using recycled glass as a feedstock.

Garden Waste

Garden waste is taken to Sita. It is composted using Open Windrow Composting. An Open Windrow Composting facility is an open-air facility and makes use of a series of long triangular shaped heaps known as windrows.

The incoming green waste is checked for quality before being shredded and formed into windrows. These windrows are turned every week for 14 weeks after which time it becomes compost.

The compost (from either process) is screened through a trommel (large barrel) where any remaining contaminants (like bits of plastic) are removed and the compost is graded into the required size. Different grades of compost are required for different uses, e.g. 10mm for horticulture, 25mm for agriculture.

Now the compost is ready, it can be taken away to its end market - usually restoration, landscaping, garden centres and agriculture.

Tins and Cans

The tins and cans are taken to the transfer station in Preston. When there is enough for a collection, it is then collected by a company called Rowan Scrap, who are a metal merchant.