Success Stories – Waste Management

Success Stories: Waste Management

Agritel’s waste management systems are installed throughout Great Britain, in a surprising variety of businesses. We’re proud to present a small selection of the many success stories from companies that have invested in our machinery and services.

Wholesaler halves waste disposal costs through using a cardboard baling machine

A Shropshire company has seen its waste management costs reduce by 50% since installing a waste cardboard baling machine at its warehouse.

Established in 1894, fruit and vegetable wholesaler Rowlands & Co (Shrewsbury) Ltd has a long history and an excellent reputation for providing quality produce to catering companies, restaurants, private schools, independent and well-known medium-sized supermarkets and local stores. In 2007 the company expanded through acquisition and as a result its volume of waste packaging also increased.

Peter Rowlands, Director, explains: “Previously we piled all of our cardboard into skips, but after the acquisition we became busier so disposing of the cardboard in this manner became costly and time consuming. Agritel had supplied us with pallet wrap material for a number of years and, after recommendation, we decided to purchase an Ag-mac V75 vertical baler from them too. It was a smart move because we have reduced both the volume of cardboard waste and our disposal costs by 50%. The baler will have paid for itself within the first year and we are considering part-exchanging the current one for a double-chamber model which allows the production of cardboard and plastic bales in one machine.”

John Duffus, Managing Director at Agritel, said: “Agritel is developing a good track record in support and advice on recycling to local businesses and Rowlands is no exception. Our aim is to provide alternatives to traditional waste disposal which is often more expensive, whether hiring skips or taking directly to landfill sites. The example of Rowlands highlights that by adopting recycling solutions businesses can be both environmentally friendly and save money!”

Baling machine completes jigsaw in countrywide recycling operation

One of the UK’s largest privately-owned farming businesses is leading the way in agri-recycling with help from a Shropshire industrial and agricultural packaging supply business.

Based in Southburn, East Yorkshire, the JSR Farming Group (JSR) was established in 1957 by John Sykes Rymer and now employs 135 people, farming 3,825 ha of arable land, as well as being a global player in pig production and genetics.

JSR’s commitment to recycling goes back to 1997 when Technical Director Philip Huxtable was involved in the set-up of a pilot project investigating alternative methods to burning waste plastic. The project was temporarily shelved in 2000 as a result of the decline in the agricultural industry but with European legislation pending, interest was revitalised in 2003. With support from agro-chemical distributor Agrovista and recycling company Recovered Plastics, a scheme was launched in May 2005.

There were still difficulties, as Huxtable explains: “We had everything in place: Agrovista collecting from their customers and delivering to our hub and Recovered Plastics collecting from us to recycle. Whilst items such as seed and feed bags were relatively easy to store and transport, chemical containers posed more of a problem. A wagon can carry approximately 2.5 tonnes of empty containers but half of that load is essentially fresh air, so the exercise is not very space- and cost-effective. Options included a plastic shredder and a mobile granulator, but further research led us to Agritel. After trials with two sizes of baler we purchased an Ag-mac V400 machine. Containers and seed/fertiliser bags are now crushed into dense, manageable bales for storage and so saving considerable costs on transport to Recovered Plastics’ base in Wrexham.”

Huxtable is pleased with the current arrangements. He continues: “JSR produces six tonnes of waste plastic and Agrovista predict 1kg per hectare per year for each customer that comes on board, providing us with a huge potential market and sufficient quantities of plastic to run a cost-effective operation.”

John Duffus, Managing Director at Agritel said: “Many issues have been raised around the disposal of the various forms of agricultural plastic including its cleanliness, packaging, storage and transport. Agritel is developing a good track record in support and advice on recycling and I’m sure that the baler JSR has purchased will serve the various parties in their scheme very well, and enable farmers to comply with the legislation.”