Purchasing a bottle of water and drinking it takes moments. Rarely, we consider the process involved in getting that bottle onto the shop floor. Let alone what happens to the empty single-use bottle once we are done using it. How is the dry mixed recycling journey?
On Thursday 12th December Green Element and few of us at White Light visited a local recycling facility. This is where all White Light’s mixed recycling and general waste from the office begins its journey of disposal. Some of the waste will be taken abroad as far as India.
Trucks will collect waste from White Light’s premises and unload it at the materials recovery facility in Wimbledon. All mixed recycling bags are placed in a warehouse where they are loaded into a hopper (rectangular container). Inside the hopper is an automatic bag splitter causing the sacks to open and all recycling to be released.
The items then travel on a conveyor belt to a trommel where smaller items are separated from the larger items.
Staff will stand either side of the conveyor belt and handpick paper and cardboard separating it from the plastics, glass and general waste. People tirelessly work for hours on end ensuring that all recycling is appropriately segregated.
Piles of different waste streams are created before being bundled and shipped off to different places to be dealt with further.
For example, general waste is shredded and placed in blue containers before being shipped off to Holland to be incinerated. The waste will be burnt creating energy for the national grid.
The paper will be divided into categories, mixed paper, white paper, shredded paper and cardboard. Once bailed it will be shipped off to be recycled in paper mills. The different paper types have varying economic values. Paper can be recycled 7 times before its fibres become too weak to be recycled.
It is important to remember that what you place in the recycling bin will be hand sorted by staff on site. It is therefore paramount not to place hazardous materials in the wrong bin.
Keen to discover more contact Green Element here.