Modular Plant Pays Dividends for Hopkinson Waste Management.

Hopkinson Waste Management currently operates a MRF at their Slittingmill site at Staveley in Derbyshire. Incoming waste is a mixed feed and includes waste mattresses, demolition rubble and general skip waste. The original waste sorting plant was designed, manufactured and installed in 1996 by Canning Conveyor of Worksop, Notts.

The plant included a feed hopper which provides the primary feed onto an 1800mm wide sorting conveyor; partially inclined at the feed end, a horizontal section forwards material into a 10 bay picking station. With five bays either side of the picking belt this has provided HWM the capacity to sort paper, cardboard, aggregates, wood, plastic and metals. Any wastes discharged off this sorting conveyor are fines and dirt which are further processed through a screen.

With original design input from David Hopkinson the conveyor was manufactured in five metre modular sections which would then allow HWM to extend the system at a later date. The original concept paid dividends as eight years after commissioning and constant use the hopper and the first part of the inclined section wore out and the belt needed replacement.

Canning Conveyor was then awarded the order to manufacture a replacement hopper, feed sections and a heavy-duty conveyor belt, supplying Cannoflex EP800/5 with 6+2 covers. Keeping downtime to a minimum Canning installed all of them within ten days.

David Hopkinson- Director, commented, "I am very pleased with the modular concept. Our sorting plant has processed approximately 500,000 tonnes of waste before having the bottom section refurbished and we have now also fully enclosed this system within a building."

Recently Canning Conveyor has supplied further conveyors as add-ons to the system to allow HWM to process aggregates and other wood.

David Hopkinson, further commented, "This sorting plant at the time of commissioning was probably the largest one in the country. Due to current demands we have definite plans for extending the current system and there is also the possibility that we shall install a second waste system, I have been very pleased with the professional, prompt and efficient service of Canning Conveyor."

Author JVMS Ltd