B&M invests £1million in innovative waste facility

Waste management specialist B&M Waste Services is investing £1million in an innovative waste facility – Refuse Derived Fuel – at its site in Trafford Park, Manchester.

The Wirral headquartered business, which provides total waste management solutions to businesses across the UK, will be creating a number of jobs in the area through the opening of the facility.

B&M has signed a contract with a major German utilities company which will see the RDF exported for recovery at an energy facility in Germany.

B&M Director Neil Curtis said: “This is a substantial investment which further demonstrates our commitment to providing an economic and environmentally sound alternative to fossil fuels. Since B&M was established in 1999 the business has grown organically and this facility is just one facet of an ambitious expansion plan which will take our services into more geographical areas and sectors.

“We are further delighted that the RDF facility will create five new roles in the area alongside further opportunities for our existing workforce.”

The facility – set to open this spring – will take commercial waste, which will be identified and separated, with any materials such as cardboard, wood and metals recycled.

The remaining non-recyclable waste is processed, compacted into bales, then wrapped and transported to a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) site. The thermal energy is recovered to produce electricity and steam generated for a local district heating system.

B&M Waste Services is the UK’s largest independent waste and recycling specialist, employing more than 170 people across sites in Merseyside, Manchester, Leeds and Norwich.

Neil Curtis added: “The benefits of producing RDF from otherwise residual waste are clear. By harnessing the energy contained in the material, B&M is able to help our customers to preserve natural resources, whilst diverting waste from landfill, resulting in lower carbon emissions.

“It is essential to find new ways of preserving the earth’s resources for future generations. We are now contracted to deliver significant quantities of RDF to an established German utility provider.

“This in turn will improve our customers’ environmental credentials by providing a real alternative to fossil fuels and a reduced reliance on landfill.”

The RDF production process is implemented through B&M’s ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. B&M has operated a Carbon Neutral business since 2010 when it achieved the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2060. B&M has already offset over five thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide, and over the last 3 years has given £35,000 in support to Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certified clean energy projects.