Partners in grime: waste scheme set for rapid results

A partnership between the City of York Council, York University, Yorwaste and PM Onboard, has enabled a scheme to be developed which aims to rapidly reduce the University s weekly waste and boost its recycling.


Having taken delivery of three Phoenix-bodied Dennis Elite 2 refuse collection trucks, City of York Council and Yorwaste joined forces with PM Onboard to develop an on-board ‘pay-by-weight’ system to help the University reduce waste, increase recycling and save money.

Each of the Dennis vehicles are fitted with two of PM Onboard’s on-board weighing systems, the BinWeigh and the WasteWeigh which features the PM1300 touch screen display unit.

Under a £1 million five-year contract, the University is being charged just for the amount of waste it produces, with all recycled waste material entitling it to receive cash-back payments.

Andy Kelly, York City’s operations manager for waste services, says: “It appears that it is the UK’s universities who are leading the way and stipulating ‘pay-by-weight’ as a way of reducing the amount of waste they generate.

“Having secured the contract with York University, we opted for PM’s system as it allows us to accurately monitor the 450 wheeled bins on the campus. Each bin is fitted with a PM radio frequency identification tag which provides accurate data on the bin number, the weight of waste, type and location.”

The University’s 3,000 staff and 10,700 students will benefit from daily waste collections. As an added incentive, Yorwaste is guaranteeing £5 for every ton of waste recycled. The funding is being used to support University environmental projects.

Kelly adds: “We are always conscious of the potential damage our heavy collection vehicles could cause to our city’s narrow streets and its fragile historical buildings. We are aware that overloaded trucks are illegal and can cause serious problems.

“To prevent the drivers from being tempted to overload, PM has fitted a packer plate shut down and dongle key switch option to the vehicles. When the load reaches its legal maximum, the packer plate shuts off thus preventing any more loadings.”

Both PM’s systems use CANbus connections. This system requires a minimum of wires on the truck and makes system diagnostics easier. In addition, PM has installed a modem, which permits its engineers to dial up the truck at any time and run a routine health check.

PM Onboard

www.pmonboard.com

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