15/07/21 - Business in Brief
Paper Round announces London’s first fully electrical waste collection vehicles
Commercial recycling company, Paper Round, has announced the start of London’s first fully electric heavy vehicle commercial recycling and waste collections, due to begin next month.
The company has taken delivery of its first electric 26t RCV and 7.5t box trucks at its Purfleet depot.
The launch follows several trials by the company of both vehicle types on standard collection routes over several days last year.
Both vehicles will be powered using 100 per cent renewable electricity, with Paper Round recently announcing it had committed to become net zero by 2030.
The 7.5t box truck has a range of up to 130km on full charge and the RCV up to 200km.
The 26t RCV aims to save around 50 tonnes of CO2 per year, whilst the 7.5t box truck will hope to save around 19 tonnes of CO2 per year
The trucks will be servicing customers with portfolios across London, such as The Crown Estate, Derwent London and Churchill Services.
Bill Swan, Paper Round Managing Director commented: “These additions to our fleet will form an essential part of our ongoing commitment to reducing our carbon footprint.
“They will also be contributing to London’s journey to net zero by 2050 and to lowering other forms of air pollution such as nitrogen oxides.”
“We’ve been running electric light vans and company cars for three years and we are excited to officially launch London’s first heavy electric trucks.”
Reconomy provides Leyland SDM with waste and recycling services
Decorating and DIY retail brand Leyland SDM has appointed Reconomy for the management of its waste and recycling services.
A provider of outsourced resource management and recycling services, Reconomy has started managing waste across all store branches including general waste, dry mixed recycling and baled cardboard.
In addition to the stores, Reconomy is managing the warehouse, introducing a backhauling solution rather than the emission-heavy multi-operational programme that was used previously.
Bringing all services under one contract is already demonstrating cost savings.
In addition to the day-to-day management of services, Reconomy has introduced segregation processes at source, ensuring waste streams - such as hazardous waste - are handled, stored and dealt with appropriately.
Stuart Liddell, Account Manager for Leyland SDM at Reconomy, commented: “It is great how quickly we have been able to identify and implement some quick wins so early on in the contract.
“The team on-site have really got behind what we are trying to achieve and can see the benefits that will come, not only financially but environmentally too.”
“We are excited about building a great relationship with the team and bringing value in the form of our thorough on-site management, experience and knowledge.”
Yousef Abdulla, Transport Supervisor at Leyland SDM, said: “We are delighted to be working with Reconomy and have them support and guide us with the management of our waste and recycling.
“For us, we can see real benefit in bringing in an expert partner who can introduce positive change for the business.”
Recycled vessel hits Bristol waters to tackle plastic pollution
On Tuesday 13 July a new vessel tasked with the clean up of plastic pollution in Bristol Harbour was unveiled.
‘Seacycler’ was launched by environmental charity Hubbub and is made from 99 per cent recycled plastic.
The vessel was designed by Mark Edwards MBE and is based on a traditional punt, but is made from Plaswood - a hardwearing alternative to wood made from reused single-use plastic - and powered by a rechargeable electric motor.
Funded equally by Bunzl and Danone UK and Ireland, the boat has been donated to education consultants Sustainable Hive.
The boat will take local people out on ‘plastic fishing’ trips in order to raise awareness of the growing levels of plastic pollution in Bristol’s waterways and to educate local schoolchildren and businesses about the impact of litter on the environment.
With each trip, the boat will help remove more plastic debris from Bristol Harbour, which will then be recycled and go towards making further boats with the same aim.
Gavin Ellis, Co-founder and Director of Hubbub, said: “While we have woken up to the problem of plastic pollution in our waterways, our canals, rivers and harbours continue to be filled with plastic litter which breaks down and is very harmful to wildlife.
“By involving local schools and businesses in a fun and engaging way, the plastic fishing trips on Seacycler will not only help clean-up the harbour and reduce the impact of litter on wildlife, but it also demonstrates that plastic has a value and can be turned into something useful.”
Ward opens second deep sea port export facility
Metal recycling and waste management company, Ward, has opened its second deep sea export facility at Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT), as part of its ongoing plans to expand its bulk metal processing and export capabilities.
The new port facility in the North East of England will create up to 10 jobs initially and enable the shipping of metal cargo to Turkey, Italy and the rest of the world.
Over the past three years many businesses have relocated their trading operations to the area due to RBT’s deep water and proximity to the North Sea.
Investment in the new site complements Ward’s existing metal processing and recycling facilities across the Midlands, London and Lincolnshire, enabling the metals company to export various grades of ferrous metal for onward recycling.
Thomas Ward, Commercial Director at Ward, commented: “This is another significant development for our ferrous operations.
“Following the opening of our Immingham dock facility in 2018, this will further expand our capabilities to buy, process and export ferrous metals.”
“It also gives us even better access to new customers further away for buying and selling scrap metal, as well as helping expand the services available to our existing customers in Turkey, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.”
“We have made a significant investment in plant, groundworks, new concreting and onsite facilities and it is great to be working with the team at RBT who are supporting us to restart large scale deep sea exports from this area that is renowned for its steelworks.”
