Kerbside organics easy mover

A Randalls Simpak 1800 waste compactor, with specially designed transit containers, has been supplied to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - the local government body of the Western Isles of Scotland - as part of a pioneering waste management scheme.


The compactor is being used to process kerbside organic waste. Each household has a kitchen caddy to encourage the collection of kitchen waste and a wheelie bin just for organic matter.

The organic waste is fed into the compactor at a waste transfer station in Benbecula, and the compacted waste sent by ferry to Stornoway. The Western Isles Council invested in state-of-the-art equipment at the Creed integrated waste management facility, situated on the outskirts of Stornoway, where an anaerobic digester has been built to process the organic waste.

The plant captures the methane biogas, providing the fuel for a combined heat and power unit, and the recovered digestate solids are made into compost. The recovered heat maintains the digester at working temperature and provides heating for an office block.

A compaction system has been included in the plan as it reduces the volume of waste and enables it to be transported more economically. The Simpak 1800 can process an average eight tonnes of waste per load.

The compactor has been supplied with transit containers from Randalls’ sister company, Skip Units. These have over-aperture doors to ensure that waste is sealed in during the ferry journey. Eight containers have been supplied so that the waste can be safely stored if the ferry is not able to depart in case of adverse weather.

Skip Units

www.skipunits.co.uk

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