UK's First Horticulture Recycling Scheme
For the first time in the UK, horticultural waste - used expanded polystyrene (EPS) bedding trays and pots - is being collected and successfully recycled.
Leading EPS packaging supplier, Styropack UK, spearheads this pioneering scheme: "We take back used EPS bedding trays from the horticultural companies that we supply," says Andy Wood, Operations Manager, Styropack in Ford, West Sussex.
"We compact the waste EPS to about 25 per cent of its original size, making it easy to store and economical to transport. However, finding a recycler that could reprocess the material was not straightforward. There was no-one in the UK who could do it, so we approached our sister company, Synbra Technology, who supplies our raw material, to see if they could help."
Synbra Technology is the leading recycler of EPS packaging in the Netherlands and had already developed techniques to deal with difficult materials collected in its home market.
The material from Styropack was a challenge as Jan Noordegraaf, Managing Director, Synbra Technology explains: "The compacted bedding trays from the UK had compost - and even whole plants - left in them, so we had to develop completely new methods to separate this from the EPS, before it could be re-processed.
"We experimented with different processes until we found a solution. Now we have one line that is dedicated to handling the material from Styropack, it includes a process to separate the organic material, which is later composted.
"The end result is a very clean bead that we colour black or grey. It is supplied as a reprocessed grade, that can be added into prime material and used to manufacture items like picture frames or disposable cameras. An added benefit is that is all sold within Europe and it helps to make our manufacturers more competitive," concludes Noordegraaf.
The compacted bedding trays are transported to Synbra Technology in their own empty trucks, on their return trips from delivering raw material to Styropack in the UK - making the whole operation as environmentally and economically efficient as possible.
Around 26 tonnes of used EPS bedding trays have been recycled since August 2005 when Styropack began sending the compacted material to Synbra Technology: "On average we send back five tonnes a month," says John Crossley, Works Manager, Styropack UK.
"That comes from ten customers and it is roughly equivalent to three articulated lorries of new bedding trays. A lot of valuable material that would have been sent to landfill is being recycled and used again."
A key Styropack customer, Roundstone Nurseries in Sussex, is very pleased that their EPS waste is being recycled: "We have been pleased and impressed by Stryopack's determination to find a viable recycling route for our horticultural waste," comments Martin Squires, Technical Manager, Roundstone.
"Our main customer is B&Q, an extremely environmentally-aware company, that expects high standards from its suppliers, so I know that they will be very pleased that this recycling scheme is working so successfully."
If you would like to know more about recycling your horticulture trays please download our information leaflet: