Printwaste’s major investment boosts paper recycling quality

Printwaste Recycling & Shredding has invested more than £100,000 in new paper sorting equipment to improve the quality of material sent for recycling at one of the UK’s largest newsprint manufacturers.

Based at Printwaste’s Stoke Orchard site near Cheltenham, the six-tonne per hour facility processes newspapers and magazines from local authority kerbside collections across the UK.

A handpicking section visually checks for any contaminants, such as card, cans, polythene bags, glass and plastic bottles, which are removed for recycling. This achieves a purer waste stream acceptable to Kent-based Aylesford Newsprint for the production of newspaper.

Waste material from source is off-loaded at Printwaste’s site from where the truck takes cleaned material to the mill, reducing transport miles. "Our central Midlands location gives us an advantage in offering this service as we’re midway between our customers and the paper mill," explains Don Robins, Printwaste Managing Director.

"Aylesford approached us for a solution as they were already aware of the high-quality service we could provide in supplying waste paper to their exact specification. Without further cleaning, the material would be unrecyclable due to higher levels of contamination from other household waste items."

Don added: "Thanks to this investment, we can offer ‘best practice’ closed-loop recycling in supplying the highest quality feedstock. With an annual processing capacity of 15,000 tonnes or more, we are anticipating further demand and investing in the future. Newspapers and magazines can be recycled up to seven times, conserving valuable energy and water resources that are needed to turn wood into paper."

Printwaste provides a complete range of recycling and secure shredding management solutions to public and private sector clients in Gloucestershire and across the UK. The firm is accredited to the UK’s highest standards including ISO 9001:2008 incorporating BS EN 15713:2009, the bespoke standard for information destruction and holds full ISO 14001 certification.

It is a principal member of the British Security Industry Association and national service operator The Shredding Alliance, as well as an Environment Agency-registered waste carrier.