Blue Machinery Central are proud to announce the completion of a new state-of-the-art MRF (materials recovery facility) for long standing customer, Willshee’s Waste & Recycling. The new facility based in Swadlincote, Derbyshire, was designed and installed by Blue. It incorporates the world’s leading technologies and innovations, making it the most automated commercial recycling plant in the UK.
Established in 1984 by founders Keith and Maria Willshee, Willshee’s is a family run business based in Burton-on-Trent. Starting out with just one lorry and ten skips, the company today boasts a large fleet of modern vehicles, and two state of the art recycling centres. They have grown to become one of the leading waste and recycling companies in the Midlands.
Willshee’s were previously processing much of this material at their existing depot in Burton, however they were looking to increase the maximum amount of material that they could recycle for reuse and were also striving towards zero waste to landfill. They manged to secure a new site in Swadlincote and after hearing of the package that was on offer, chose Blue Machinery Central as their new plant provider.
The new MRF is recycling commercial & industrial waste, processing 40 tonnes per hour which works out to be around 110,000 tonnes a year! The material breakdown consists of 10-70mm hardcore, mixed ferrous metals, segregated nonferrous metals, wood, 70-300mm aggregate, shredded material baled for RDF & SRF, meaning zero waste to landfill.
As well as achieving Willshee’s two main goals of increased levels of materials extracted and zero waste to landfill, the plant also provides numerous other benefits. The MRF has allowed Willshee’s to increase their tonnage significantly, which has brought in new contracts to bring in more waste and more business. The high level of automation also dramatically reduces the manpower required for manual picking and QC.
We spoke with Managing Director at Willshee’s, Dean Willshee, who offered his thoughts the new facility and why he chose to work with Blue: “As a company we are committed to protecting our environment through recycling and sustainable practices. We decided to invest heavily in our quest to achieve zero waste to landfill and we are delighted that this new state of the art facility allows us to do just that. We went through vigorous testing with several suppliers before ultimately choosing to work with Blue. We have a long-standing relationship with Blue Central, with a high element of trust in place between our two companies, so it was a combination of that and the quality of equipment that Blue was able to provide us with. We have bought plants from Blue in the past, and we have future projects in the pipeline, so it’s fair to say that we’ve been very happy with the service that they provide”.
The story between Blue and Willshee’s doesn’t end there, with plans commencing for upgrades to a number of their other Depots. With both projects being designed by BlueMAC, the first plant will process 35 tph of MSW and will target both ferrous and non-ferrous metals with the final product being baled and wrapped.
Whilst the second plant will process 25 tph of waste wood, utilising a Lindner Jupiter 3000 shredder. The shredded wood will again have ferrous and non-ferrous removed before screening to remove fines and oversize. The targeted size wood chip will be used in Willshee’s own Biomass Boiler, further enhancing their green credentials. These orders represent further investments into equipment provided by Blue and strengthens the relationship between the two companies. We look forward to a continued development of Willshee’s recycling capabilities and a very positive partnership into the future.