EDGE Recycling Equipment brings operational benefits to a leading UK Recycler.

When Bloomfield Composting needed to invest in a new shredder and trommel for their 18-acre waste and recycling facility at Cannock in Staffordshire they turned to EDGE Innovate, and not without good reason.

Bloomfield Composting established 15 years ago takes in green waste, wood and forestry waste from a number of sources to produce not only PAS 100 compost and BS3882 multipurpose topsoil, but also biofuel and pellets used in power stations and for other applications.

Nigel Gill Managing Director of Bloomfield Composting has gained a wealth of experience in the waste recycling and demolition sectors having worked for some 30 years alongside David Humphries of the Humphries Holding Group of companies. Today, as an independent, privately owned and managed company, Bloomfield Composting’s facilities are considered to be among the best in the country.

EDGE Innovate supplied the company with an EDGE VS420 slow speed shredder and an EDGE TRT620R tracked trommel, both of which have been earning their keep for over two years processing a variety of waste streams without any hitches. As a prerequisite for any new pieces of equipment brought into Bloomfield Composting, it had to withstand the rigors of processing different waste streams whilst also maintaining a consistently high production rate. Favouring the products from EDGE, the operators at Bloomfield Compost liked the robust design and versatility that the product from EDGE offered.

High Performing Waste Shredder

Featuring an intelligent operating system with tramp metal detection system, the EDGE VS420 installed in June 2021 has proven to be highly dependable having been utilized to process a wide range of waste streams, some of which contain a high percentage of contaminants or non-shreddables. The fuel-efficient EDGE VS420 provides Bloomfield Composting with a high production capacity shredder thanks to its extremely high torque and twin shaft chamber set up which makes the unit an ideal solution for shredding a large array of materials including green waste, stumps and wood waste. EDGE’s twin shaft design provides exceptional material intake, ensures less wear, promotes self-cleaning and prevents material wrapping. Customisable shredding programmes adds to the unit’s application versatility as Bloomfield Composting quickly discovered.

A shredder that is robust, operator friendly, versatile and fuel efficient

“After discussing our specific requirements with the team at EDGE Innovate, we took delivery of the VS420 shredder in the 2^nd quarter of 2021 and we added the unique TRT620R trommel several months later,” says Nigel Gill. “We needed a shredder that was robust, operator friendly, versatile and efficient to process a variety of wood waste, a lot of which contained metal such as nails, hinges and door handles. It also needed to break down other difficult waste like tree stumps and roots before putting the material through our high-speed grinder, and the VS420 fits the bill perfectly with its different programme options and settings”.

“Our operators like the VS420 because of its user-friendly design, they found it to be extremely easy to operate plus it can be controlled remotely from the cab of his excavator, so it is essentially a one-man operation. Our excavator operator actually runs two shredders and a screener all via wireless remotes. We particularly like the reverse rotor functionality of the EDGE shredder chamber as it helps to keep the rotors clean and if they are kept clean, we find it cuts back on the power required and uses less fuel, so we found the VS420 to be very efficient.

New Trommel Screen with unique features

Complimenting the VS420 shredder on site is an EDGE TRT620R trommel. With its heavy-duty construction design and high manoeuvrability, it has proven to be perfect for Bloomfield Composting as it is well suited to handling biomass, soil and compost, as well as construction and demolition waste.

Brought in a several months after the EDGE VS420 and based on the reliability displayed by their first EDGE unit, Bloomfield Compost returned to the market and invested in an EDGE TRT620R. A unique trommel, the 620 class trommel from EDGE can accept trommel drums from competing brands but with the added advantage of an end-to-end discharge conveyor trommel format complete with a 180° slewing fines conveyor. This added functionality and design format allows for enhanced production capacities, reduced material handling and the ability to create large radial or windrow stockpiles.

Trommel has the ability to track, screen and stack material simultaneously

Used to screen compost, topsoil, and other waste streams the EDGE TRT620R track trommel has a few additional design features not found on competing models, such as its ability to track, screen and stack material simultaneously. This has proven very beneficial especially when screening compost windrows with Bloomfield Composting seeing an improvement in the time taken to screen product whilst dramatically reducing their double handing of material on site.

“EDGE Innovate were very accommodating when we asked for some modifications to the trommel,” says Nigel. “We don’t tend to shred the kerbside collected green waste when it comes into our facility, it goes straight into windrows, but there tends to be quite a lot of oversize material now and again and it was catching on the chute, so EDGE made changes to their system to compensate, and it is performing brilliantly.”

“We had some initial concerns over the working length of the EDGE TRT620R due to its end discharge format but when you position the radial fines conveyor at 180°, the trommel unit has the same small footprint of a standard trommel but with the ability to create much larger stockpiles”.

Drum Compatibility

Another notable bonus of the TRT620R is that it can accept several other trommel manufacturers’ drums, enabling Bloomfield Composting to take full advantage of their existing drum stock. A quick and simple drum exchange procedure is facilitated via an innovative sliding feeder design and double sided 180° swinging drum doors all of which allow the screening drum to be exchanged in a matter of minutes.

“We hadn’t dealt with EDGE Innovate before acquiring these two machines, but they’ve been very supportive, although to be honest we haven’t had any issues since putting the shredder and trommel to work; they’ve been reliable and have been performing very well,” says Nigel.