Food for Thought...

• 
• 22nd November 2007
• Recycling
 

The RWM 07 Exhibition in September saw its very first waste audit carried out by Cheshire based food waste solutions provider, Accelerated Compost Ltd.

"As RWM is the premier show in the UK for the recycling and waste industries we thought it was time for a waste audit to be carried out during the show. We approached the organiser, Emap, who were very keen to highlight the importance of recycling at just such an event," said Simon Webb, Managing Director of Accelerated Compost.

Colour coded bins were placed around the NEC arena halls designated for RWM and visitors were encouraged to separate plastics, paper and food waste. Simon  commented, "It was a tough job getting the location of the bins just right but we feel it was a worthwhile experiment in facing these challenges and has provided us with a huge amount of information to take advantage of this excellent recycling opportunity more fully next year."

It's hardly surprising such an experiment would be so successful carried out by Accelerated Compost. "We offer a very comprehensive service and this has led to some huge successes for ourselves and our customers. We are proud that our service and products are helping organisations all over the UK increase their recycling rates and decrease the amount of recoverable material going to landfill," said Huw Crampton, General Manager at Accelerated Compost.

The small scale in-vessel food waste solution manufactured and installed by Accelerated Compost, the Rocket®, is having a big impact on the recycling capabilities of many organisations around the country. Three successful customers have recently been announced as finalists for the Wales Business & Sustainability Awards 2007.

Canolfan Conway Centre
With 420 beds the Conway Centre is one of the largest residential education centres in the UK.  Situated in the grounds of Plas-Newydd, beside the Menai Strait, it delivers activities including art, drama, dance, field studies and outdoor education to 18,000 visitors a year, ranging from Year 2 to adult.  Having installed the A700 Rocket composter as part of their waste management system, they have seen a huge reduction in BOD discharge into the Menai Strait from 7000 to 360 ppm.  The food waste is processed through the rocket and the resulting compost used around the grounds for landscaping purposes. The Centre employs 61 staff and has a turnover of £2M.

Since 2003 the Centre has achieved FEE Eco Centre status, Level 4 Green Dragon (Arena Network), has been runner up twice with the Wales Business & Sustainability Awards and this year won the Environmental Management System Award for the Public Sector.

Gliffaes Country House Hotel
A family run hotel since 1948 with 23 rooms, a bar and restaurant near Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons, the Gliffaes Hotel is a finalist in the Sustainable Consumption & Production category for the Resource Efficency Best Practice Award. The Gliffaes installed an A700 Rocket® to deal with the large amount of food waste generated on-site and has subsequently reduced waste-to-landfill by 30%.

Their other environmental achievements include diverting 30 tonnes of cardboard and glass from landfill and distilling concentrated cleaning materials and toiletries into reusable containers.

Craflwyn Centre - National Trust Estate
Finalists in two categories, Environmental Management & Sustainability Reporting and Natural Resource Protection & Environmental Enhancement, the Craflwyn Centre is up for an Environmental Management System Award and Business & Biodiversity Award.

Since instigating a waste management plan, the Centre has installed an A500 Rocket® Composter and has seen waste to landfill reduced by 50% and home grown produce in the community garden is fertilised with the resulting compost. They have also completed a package of energy saving initiatives, including a ground-source heat pump, solar panels and biomass boiler fuelled by careful local wood harvesting. These changes have seen a 6% reduction in carbon emissions while occupancy increased by 10%.

The centre has also achieved Green Dragon Level 3 and is a volunteering centre of excellence and a work-base for the National Trust in West Snowdonia & Llyn. As well as being a base for a variety of environmental activity throughout the Beddgelert area, the centre is also becoming a venue for training courses, self catering accommodation, family reunions and weddings. The centre employs 15 staff.

A500 ROCKET® IN-VESSEL COMPOSTER
The A500 is the smallest in the range of Rocket® composters. Fully automatic and measuring 2m long by 0.7m wide and 1.4m high, it has a capacity of 600 litres of mixed waste per week. Rocket® fuel dosing system and temperature reader are also included and with running costs of around 50p per week, it is proving to be a cheaper alternative to traditional food waste disposal routes.

A700 ROCKET® IN-VESSEL COMPOSTER
The mid-range A700 is capable of processing up to 2000 litres of mixed food waste per week. Thermostatically controlled to ensure temperatures greater than 65°C are maintained for more than 2 days and the average power consumption is as little as 70kwh per week. Fully automatic and measuring 3m long by 0.8m wide and 1.6m high the A700 is probably one of the most versatile small scale in-vessel composting systems currently in use in the UK.

The Rocket® in-vessel composter is manufactured and distributed through Accelerated Compost Ltd. Offices in Cheshire, Perthshire, East Sussex, County Wexford and Worcester ensure UK-wide distribution and prompt after sales service. The Rocket® is currently being used as a solution to the food waste disposal problem for small scale commercial and industrial applications throughout the UK from Community Composters to Schools and Colleges, Hotels, Restaurants and Estates.

For further details:
Huw Crampton
Accelerated Compost Ltd
www.quickcompost.co.uk
huw@quickcompost.co.uk
01260 222 942