ENERGYEFFICIENCY
Heroes of Zero
» AS MANY MANUFACTURING plants strive towards operating in a more sustainable way to help reduce waste and manage valuable resources Freefoam Building Products announce a significant milestone on their journey . Working with waste and energy partner BIFFA , Freefoam send no site waste to landfill .
Production and site waste is processed in three ways : energy recovery , recycled PVC and recycled general waste .
In the year to date 44.43 % of our general waste was foam and rigid plastic which is collected by our waste partner who process it in to shredded PVC recyclate format . This material is a valuable commodity and can be used to manufacture many other products . The remaining 8.77 % of packaging and cardboard is also sent to be recycled .
Our commercial waste , that cannot be recycled , goes to Energy Recovery . It is also collected and transported to a nearby Energy Recovery Facility . Here it is processed and turned in to energy , which is subsequently sold back to the National Grid .
Energy recovery is a technology that sees nonrecyclable waste burned at high temperatures under carefully controlled conditions . The process is extremely efficient , robust and safe , with emissions from the process treated to meet stringent European guidelines .
So what happens to the energy once generated ? Taking one month as an example the energy provided by Freefoam waste could have powered a 400 watt fridge freezer for 354 weeks , or 6.8 years or a 1500 watt dishwasher for 118 weeks , or 2.2 years .
Herbert Livingstone , Quality , Safety , Health & Environmental Manager ( QSHE ), commented
“ We are very proud to be operating our plant in such a sustainable way . We have worked hard to separate and manage waste on site so that we don ’ t need to send any to landfill . This work is just a small part of a much wider programme to ultimately deliver a circular business model and help towards the UK ’ s target to become a netzero economy .”
www . freefoam . com
COMMITMENT TO RECYCLED PVC-U MARKED BY TANKER DELIVERIES
» A COMMITMENT TO RECYCLING PVC-U by the VEKA Group that spans almost three decades , is epitomised by a photograph that captures a delivery of recycled PVC-U pellet by VEKA Recycling Ltd , to sister company , systems extruder VEKA PLC .
VEKA was the first major PVC-U window brand to realise the value and commit to the recycling of the material , which may be recycled and remanufactured into new products as many as 10 times , when it opened the first dedicated recycling facility in Behringen , Germany , in 1993 . The tanker deliveries of high-quality recycled pellet to VEKA PLC ’ s Burnley plant , mark the latest phase of the Group ’ s commitment to the promotion of PVC-U as a sustainable material , with the completion of VEKA Recycling ’ s state-of-the-art facility in Wellingborough at the end of last year .
VEKA Recycling ’ s Managing Director Simon Scholes said : “ Although we are both part of the VEKA dynasty , we have not been given the automatic right to supply Burnley . We had to demonstrate an ability to supply high volumes of the finest quality material , on a regular basis .”
Deliveries by tanker allow 26 tonnes of high-grade PVC-U pellet – enough to provide 75 % recycled content for 27500 metres of profile - to be transferred at each end of the journey in less than a couple of hours , with as many as three deliveries per week . The process is considerably quicker than the alternative delivery method of one tonne bags that are lifted on and off the delivery vehicle by forklift truck .
VEKA PLC MD Neil Evans said that the completion of the Wellingborough plant , followed by strenuous trials , enabled his company to honour its commitment to the inclusion of higher levels of recyclate in its products : “ I am delighted that our sister company has been able to open as scheduled despite the difficulties of building the plant
during the pandemic , and also that the quality and volumes are to our very exacting standards at Burnley .”
VEKA recycling Ltd continues to supply a number of other established customers with recycled material , including manufacturers of electrical conduit , air conditioning ducting and other building materials .
www . veka-recycling . co . uk
60 » NOV 2021 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM