Welsh recycling gets a boost from Corus

28 Mar 2008

A major welsh recycling scheme is increasing both efficiency and capacity for processing steel packaging as a result of receiving vital equipment from Corus.

‘Caergylchu’ is a £4 million waste minimisation, reuse and recycling scheme covering approximately 50% of the population of Gwynedd in North West Wales. Being delivered in partnership by waste management company Cwmni Gwastraff Mon-Arfon Cyfyngedig Ltd, Gwynedd Council and social enterprise Antur Waunfawr Recycling, it aims to achieve a 54% diversion rate for the area by expanding kerbside collection and increasing processing capacity.

To ensure that the growing number of steel cans being collected for recycling under the Caergylchu scheme are to the right specifications for reprocessing by Corus, the company has provided Cwmni Gwastraff Mon-Arfon Cyfyngedig’s new Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Caernarfon with a Whitham Mills baler. Approximately 200 tonnes of packaging processed at the site each year will now be sent to the EMR Ltd. CanRoute Centre In Rochdale and then on to Corus to be recycled into a vast range of new steel products.

Robert Jenkins, Recycling Projects Manager for Corus Steel Packaging Recycling, comments: “By investing funds in new equipment to improve steel packaging processing facilities at the Caernarfon MRF, Corus is making it easier for the Caerglychu partners to reprocess the large volume of material they are beginning to receive from the kerbside collections. This coupled with the fact that the cans are then routed to a regional CanRoute centre that deals directly with Corus, means that the recycling loop is very efficient.” 

In addition to the new MRF and kerbside collections, facilities provided by Caergylchu for the Gwynnedd community include a public education centre and community grant scheme. 18 new jobs have also been created as a result of the project.