CRS NI ups the game for Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd.

Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd have just increased their processing capacity at their site in Ashford, Kent with the installation of a new materials recycling facility and a fines recovery line which has been supplied and installed by CRS NI.

Based in Carrickmore in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, CRS NI are the market leader in complete bespoke recycling equipment solutions.

The Ashford site has handled waste since January 2011 with Alan Hogg and Richard Monks as co-directors.

Alan and Richard are no stranger to waste as they have both previously owned waste transfer sites in Maidstone and have extensive knowledge of the business through waste handling and haulage.

Alan, takes up the story, “Currently we have approximately 20 vehicles and are processing 100/125 skips a day, now with the new CRS NI system in operation we hope to increase that to 200 skips a day. CRS NI have installed a 54-bay picking station and through the commissioning stage we are running on 125 skips a day with 16-18 operatives in the picking station, so we have plenty of room to get the tonnage through the gate which is the reason for installing the new system.”

Alan, continued, “Our old system had one picking line with 4 operatives so the new system is a major step forward.”

Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd collect waste from the Kent area. Since the new installation the company is now considering collections in East Sussex.

The new plant was sourced through CRS NI dealer Patrick Donnelly of Earth Equipment who has had a long-term business relationship with Alan.

Alan continued, “Together we looked at various systems, many of them much more complex than our final choice but decided to choose a simple straight-line system which causes less complications, is easy to maintain and operate and is easier for machine drivers to see what is going on the ground i.e. bays empty, bays to be filled etc.”

An investment of £1.5 million:
Alan, commented, “We are receiving an incoming mixed feed of C&D waste and household waste with increased capacity, we are attracting more interest from the large blue-chip waste companies. Everything is running well and it’s a very simple system with motors and drives making maintenance straightforward.

One of the main reasons that Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd chose this system was the 5- metre height of the bays which have a capacity of 40 yards of bulk material and yet still allow an articulated truck to be reversed in when the bay is full. The capacity of the whole plant will eventually mean that there will be no material on-site that hasn’t been sorted.

After processing the waste, the plant produces many end-products - two streams of plastics soft and hard, A, B and C grade woods, paper and cardboard, metal and aluminium and green waste all in separate bays, achieving zero to landfill.

Patrick Donnelly – Director of Earth Equipment, commented, “Alan initially spoke to me in March 2016 as he wanted to see what CRS NI could offer so we had an initial meeting, looked at drawings and then we went to look at another plant in Milton Keynes that CRS NI had completed. It was obvious this was the type of plant he wanted so we based our initial designs on this as a starting point then developed a bespoke design for Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd, incorporating all of their requirements in terms of site size, shape and throughput.”

With the order placed an installation plan was drawn up as the site had to be in constant operation while the new plant was being erected. After the civils were completed in stages, a decision was made on the storage of the new equipment and space allocated for the cranes before the uprights were positioned and the beams installed.

With a seven-week window to complete the new 87-metre long plant the facility was tested with material from mid -December to check component synchronisation, and then was successfully commissioned during the third week of January 2018.

With the decommissioning of the old system the CRS NI engineers had around three months of old material to run through the new plant and test it, this was duly completed in 9 days.

Processing the waste:
Capable of 300tonnes per day the plant consists of a heavy-duty loading hopper which delivers the waste material onto a heavy-duty finger screen which is used to take the initial cut of cumbersome and problematic materials and present them in a cleaned stream for picking onto the 1500mm wide belt on the left-hand side of the station.

Following this a CRS 820 trommel is used to further screen off the mid-size and the -40mm fines for the fines plant this then presents another clean stream of smaller +40-100mm material for efficient picking and further separation on the 1200mm wide belt on the right-hand side.

The picking area has the capacity to accommodate 56 pickers in a clean and comfortable environment and is insulated, double glazed, sound proofed and incorporates anti-fatigue matting on the floor. The specification includes six external drop chutes for electrical wires, aluminium, copper with all air-operated allowing release into the bucket of a shovel below ensuring easy disposal of materials.

Following the picking stage, two high powered over band magnets reclaim the valuable metals before the material is finally cleaned up using air separation units, resulting in a clean usable stone product and an RDF.

The CRS NI system is producing 11 separate materials including mixed plastic, high-grade wood, cardboard, light plastics, PVC, low grade wood, paper, metals, clean stone and RDF; with the scalability to increase this to 18 separate materials when required.

A second process:
All the -40mm fines derived from the first process are stockpiled and then delivered by wheel loader into the feed hopper of the Fines Recovery Processing System. This unique Double Drum Air Separation Unit (adjustable for damp or dry conditions) with Flip Flow Screen is the only system of its kind on the market and enhances CRS’s already patented and high performing direct drive flip flow system driving both decks ensuring maximum agitation. A unique design which utilises two high powered fans directed through two separate adjustable air nozzles working in conjunction with the double drums to produce an even cleaner material and a more effective separation by blowing the lights over the drum into a cage below and with the drums set ensuring any heavier material 40-10mm drops into its bay below.

Alan, summarised, “The new plant has provided us with more quality end-products, great storage capacity and is user and maintenance friendly. Good all-round plant access through extensive access platforms and walkways are excellent for daily maintenance and checks. We are very pleased with the installation and the professional way it was built. It’s just what we wanted as it takes us into our next stage of bigger and better waste processing.”

A leading supplier of waste processing equipment:
CRS NI are the leading player in the UK waste processing market and over the last few years CRS NI have built a successful relationship with Earth Equipment. Based in Surrey, Earth Equipment has over 35 years combined experience in the demolition, composting and recycling business sectors and are dedicated to bringing innovative alternatives to the recycling industry throughout the south of England from London to Cornwall.

They have installed various systems from static and mobile picking stations, air separation systems to complete waste processing systems, including the most recent complete static waste solution facility at Green Box Recycling Kent Ltd.

Recently, CRS NI has announced that Wolf Eco Machinery have been appointed as their official distributor to cover the Midlands and surrounding counties. CRS selected Wolf Eco due to their extensive knowledge of the recycling industry, dedicated customer care and outstanding reputation in the UK. With Wolf Eco joining their UK distribution team alongside Earth Equipment, they now show an even stronger front.

Company MD, Brian Bell commented “I am delighted to be working with CRS and the people within the company. I see a very strong future for the recycling market in the UK and believe CRS are at the forefront of recycling and therefore we look forward to working with them.”

The CRS team currently work directly with customers in North England and Scotland to offer bespoke waste solutions and complete installations.

Sean Conlon, MD of CRS commented “The UK is a key market for us and we are delighted to work in partnership with both Earth Equipment and Wolf Eco Machinery. Together with their knowledgeable sales teams we have an even stronger front in the UK Market and we are very excited about what the future holds for 2018.”

Associated Businesses

  • Carrickmore, BT79 9HW