Member Article

Edmundson Electrical invests in waste baler

Electrical distributor Edmundson Electrical has installed a new waste baler within its Doncaster branch, as the company furthers its quest to ‘go green’.

As the largest electrical distributor in the UK – with over 280 branches nationwide – it is no surprise that Edmundson Electrical produces a large amount of packaging ‘waste’. But as an environmentally friendly business, with a number of resource-efficient initiatives already in place, branch manager Nick Hope knew that a smarter recycling strategy could be adopted.

“We have solar panels on the roof and LED lighting throughout the building, to maximise our energy efficiency,” he said. “We also have a voltage optimiser which helps us reduce our electricity consumption, and two electrical cars – and counting – within our fleet. We’ve therefore seen the environmental and financial benefits that come with savvy ‘green’ thinking, so recycling our plastic and cardboard waste was the logical next step.”

Aware that a waste baler could facilitate smarter materials handling – whilst reducing the charges associated with multiple weekly skip collections – Nick took to the internet to search for Edmundson’s first machine. Impressed with the advice, feedback and prompt responses from one particular baler specialist, the search stopped at Riverside Waste Machinery.

Riverside’s managing director Jonathan Oldfield recommended the RWM 150 baler, a mid-range model capable of producing bales of up to 150kg. With an ergonomic design for ease of operation, this hydraulic machine also has an automatic bale ejection and a three twine tying system to ensure a secure cardboard or plastic bale.

Twelve months after installing the equipment, the company has already seen a huge difference. “Since purchasing the baler we have halved the number of packaging waste collections from our Doncaster site,” comments Nick. “This in turn has reduced our waste management costs, and that’s before we take into account the yield from the sale of our bales.

“We now produce 10 bales a week, not only generating revenue for the business but helping the wider environment at the same time.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .