Shrinking a waste problem
Polystyrene is an excellent packaging material but bulky and expensive to dispose of. One prestige car maker called on Purex for the solution.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is always looking to be greener and recycle more materials from their production site in Chichester. One waste material that was difficult to recycle was Polystyrene.
Polystyrene makes excellent packaging, with high insulating and protective properties. Unfortunately, once goods are delivered and opened then polystyrene becomes a waste material that companies must pay to dispose of. Large, bulky pieces of polystyrene can take up significant space in a waste container which means it will need to be emptied more often - and therefore is more costly.
A conservative estimate suggests that hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste polystyrene is produced and sent to landfill on an annual basis, taking up a large volume of landfill compared to its weight.
Carl Payne, operations manager from Biffa, explains: "Rolls-Royce Motor Cars probably produces around half a tonne of polystyrene per month, which is not a huge amount, making it unfeasible for recycling companies to collect and recycle. The reason it is unfeasible is that polystyrene is roughly 95 per cent air and only 5 per cent recyclable material. Therefore, filling a lorry with polystyrene is disproportionately expensive because of the large volume of space it takes up compared to the small amount of material that can be recycled."
Biffa manage all aspects of waste management in partnership with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. Carl continued "Biffa's philosophy to managing a contract of this nature is to continually look for new routes to recycle waste. We found an excellent way for Rolls-Royce to recycle polystyrene using a Styromelt machine."
The Styromelt melts polystyrene to form a dense block of material that is reduced in volume by over 95 per cent of the original material - a two cubic metre load of polystyrene comes out of the machine as a 90cm x 25cm x 5cm block that can be stored and sold to recycling companies (see image right).
Carl explains why recycling this material is beneficial, "Firstly, it reduces the cost of disposing of polystyrene and it frees up a lot of space in the waste containers. It also means we continue to help Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reduce the volume of waste going to landfill and increase recycling rates - all good news for the environment."
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars achieved ISO 14001 certification in April 2003 and maintained this standard ever since. The manufacturing and headquarters building is a 'sustainability designed' building with a 22,500 square metre 'living roof' planted with thousands of sedum plants.
Waste management is an important process within the company; all waste is segregated through a number of 'waste islands' around the site and a dedicated 'Recycling Centre' sorts and bales all recyclable wastes. Carl continues, "Our main objectives are to divert waste from landfill and reduce cost."
Currently Rolls-Royce Motor Cars are looking to save £2000 - £3000 per year by recycling polystyrene.
"Polystyrene is collected daily and put into the Styromelt machine, once enough is in the machine they can run a melt during the day and the densified blocks are stored until they have enough to send for recycling. At a time when recycling, landfill and the environment are big on the agenda, we hope to make people realise that polystyrene is a waste material that can be recycled effectively."
The Styromelt™ system is designed and built by Purex International in partnership with Taylor Products of Cardiff.
