Advanced Recycling Systems can crusher recycles thousands of waste cans produced in the Orkneys

(29/04/2009)

The Orkneys are home to around 20,000 residents, who produce a total of 60 tonnes of waste aluminium and steel cans each year. The Islands are nearer to the coast of Iceland than they are to Cornwall.

The Council of the Orkney Islands has installed machinery manufactured in Cornwall that will help recycle thousands of waste cans produced in the islands each year.

The can crusher was manufactured by Advanced Recycling Systems at its Camborne base and will save the Islands’ council thousands of pounds a year. The equipment separates aluminium and steel cans and crushes them into bales ready for recycling, cutting transport costs to the UK mainland.

Advanced Recycling Systems’ Managing Director, Brian Hattam, said: “For one of the most northerly Councils in the UK to choose the southernmost manufacturer of recycling equipment shows the confidence there is in our products and expertise. Our equipment is found all around the UK, but this is the furthest-flung customer so far.”

Jonathan Walters, Orkney Council’s Operational Environmental Services Team Leader said: “We investigated the market fully and it was clear that Advanced Recycling Systems could provide the solution we needed, at the price we wanted. This end-to-end contract proves that if you’re prepared to offer great customer service and the right product, your location simply isn’t an issue.”

The £50,000 can crusher will be housed in a former incinerator at Chinglebraes, on the Islands, which has now been converted to a waste transfer station, handling paper, card, plastics, street sweepings and residual waste. It is part of Orkney Council’s expansion of recycling facilities on the Islands.

Jonathan continued: “The limited size of the building and a lack of storage space meant we needed a machine with a small footprint which could operate intermittently immediately after each delivery of cans. ”

The Advanced Recycling Systems can crusher, made up of two KK340 models, has been built using the company’s modular approach, which allows a variety of machines to be created from standard parts.

These include a high-capacity hopper into which the cans are tipped, a bespoke conveyor feed, a dual fixed magnet separator to sort aluminium from steel cans and a crushing unit to create saleable, standard-sized, bales of cans.

The modular approach has also allowed the company to design the world’s first mobile can collection, sorting and crushing machine, known as “KerbCan”,

The can crusher will allow the Council to sell the baled cans, and by reducing the amount of manual handling needed, will cut down on both costs and the risk of accidents.

Brian continued: “We’re extremely proud to have delivered this machine which will help the Council process and generate revenue from waste cans. The remote location, and the very precise requirements that the Council had show how versatile Advanced Recycling Systems can be.”

Related categories:  Environmental technologies for industrial plants and factories   Environmental technologies for offices and commercial   Metal recycling   Recyclable materials