Driver-operated weighbridge system reduces ‘time wasting’ at waste transfer site

• 
• 29th January 2007
• Recycling
 

A twin driver-operated weighbridge system installed by Weightron Bilanciai is bringing a wide range of operational and fiscal advantages to Walsall Council at their waste transfer station in Bloxwich, West Midlands. The site is owned by Walsall Council and operated on their behalf by the not-for-profit company ECT Recycling. (ECT believes in making recycling rubbish simple and easy. In partnership with local authorities across the UK, ECT runs recycling services which are used by over two million people.)

The installation has included a new driver-operated 50 tonne, 16 metre pit-mounted Eurodeck weighbridge at the site exit and upgrades to the existing entrance weighbridge to improve vehicle throughput and allow out of hours weighing. The two weighbridges are now linked through to the D800 terminal in the weighbridge office where the local PC runs Weightron's Winweigh Connect-Intra software package.

Prior to the system upgrade, the facility had been operating with only one weighbridge at the entrance to the site. This not only caused delays and frustrations for the drivers, but also additional unwanted traffic movement in the busy working area. All vehicles entering the site, together with collection vehicles leaving, had to be weighed on the same weighbridge. As Walsall Council operations manager Steve Hawkins explains: "Space at the site is at a premium and given the layout this meant that vehicles had to go ‘twice round the block' before leaving. At busy times this could cause delays of up to 20 minutes for vehicles leaving the site which, over the course of a day, could mean drivers taking out one load less. The waste arrives at the station from many different sources around the borough and over 500 vehicles a week need to be weighed with a daily exodus of over 300 tonnes of waste and recyclable material. Incoming vehicles include domestic refuse collection vehicles, road sweepers, parks and housing department vehicles, kerb side recycling collection vehicles, bring bank collection vehicles and registered private traders. A separate part of the site is used for household waste disposal. Waste then leaves the site via articulated bulk vehicles for delivery to landfill and vehicles collecting a whole range of recyclable materials including green waste, glass, metal, wood, paper and plastics."

The layout of the site did not lend itself to install the new weighbridge opposite the existing one, so the ability for it to be driver-operated was essential. The Weightron Selfbox terminal situated at the side of the weighbridge controls the whole weighing procedure, without the need for a weighbridge operator. Landfill vehicles are weighed as they leave the site and drivers have a dedicated smart card containing relevant information pertaining to vehicle identity, contractor and tare weight. When they drive onto the bridge, they simply swipe their card to initiate the weighing and are then issued with a weighbridge ticket containing details of the origination of the waste, the gross load and the relevant six digit European Waste Code (EWC). The weighing also serves as a check to ensure the vehicles are not overloaded before they go on the public highway. The information provides a record for Walsall Council, which can be checked against the invoice from the landfill site. The same procedure is adopted for recycle collection vehicles.

The new terminal on the original bridge extends the site's operational hours, allowing drivers to weigh their vehicles if they arrive out of normal weighbridge office hours. This capability has proved to be particularly useful during the summer months.

Steve Hawkins is very pleased with the new system and concludes: "Walsall Council strives to give an efficient and cost effective service to our customers - the residents of Walsall, with the emphasis very much on recycling. On one side of our balance sheet we are charged for the disposal of waste to landfill and for the removal of certain recyclable material, whilst on the other, we generate revenue from charging certain recyclers based on the value of the material collected. As a result efficient weighing and recording of data plays a pivotal role in our waste management process. Every day at a preset time a designated PC automatically dials into the D800 weighing terminal and the Winweigh software downloads the day's weighing data in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. We now have clear visibility of the movement of waste materials in and out of the site, allowing us to issue prompt invoices and assess how efficient we are at recycling."

Associated Links

• Hub-4 Profile of Weightron Bilanciai Ltd
• Weightron Bilanciai Ltd Company Website