Member Article

Leading manufacturer to eliminate UK waste to landfill with Icelandic revaluation theory

Safer Surfacing, the UK’s leading manufacturer of recycled rubber chippings, has today announced the launch of sister company Endurmeta - the first company to put the Icelandic model of ‘revaluation’ into practice in the UK to revalue waste destined for landfill.

By excavating common single-use products for their valuable raw materials, the method is addressing the growing waste problem, while also benefiting business’ bottom line by turning waste to asset.

Endurmeta is leading the ‘revalue’ revolution in the UK, designed to drive a behavioural change to recycling. The process sees discarded waste materials collected and put through an innovative recycling line, before being distributed for reuse to partners across the globe.

The recycling model is already in action through Endurmeta’s manufacturing arm, Safer Surfacing. Established in 2012, family-run Safer Surfacing takes rubber found in discarded car tyres and remanufactures it through a shredding, granulation and separation process to make various size and colour rubber chipping products. These products are then sold on for use by leading landscapers and architects in installations to create safe, colourful, weatherproof surfaces in areas such as children’s playgrounds.

Taking a circular approach, at the end of the product’s life - which typically lasts 10-15 years - Safer Surfacing then puts the material back into the recycling process to create a new product for use in equestrian arenas.

Endurmeta’s recycling facility can also process upwards of five million traditional single-use coat hangers each week on a single shift basis. This process is already being adopted by leading UK retailers.

The company is calling out for more companies to reconsider the value of their waste and the potentially useful raw materials every product holds before disregarding it.
Tina Urmson, director at Endurmeta, explained:

“The waste ethos in the UK has always been very linear. We take what we class as rubbish, throw it away and don’t think about it again, which is why we’re surrounded by stories about plastic polluting oceans or non-biodegradable waste taking up space on landfill sites.

“On the surface, statistics tell us that the UK is doing well when it comes to recycling, having increased efforts significantly in recent years. However, what’s actually happening is the UK is simply exporting its waste problem. As a country, we are currently exporting six times more waste abroad than we were 15 years ago.”

“In light of new legislation and the government’s recently launched Resources and Waste Strategy, large organisations now have a responsibility to embrace a circular approach and consider carefully the value of their products at the end of their lifecycle. This doesn’t mean simply recycling, we need to be thinking about the value we can give to that waste and work with the right partners to make it possible.”

Einar Asgeirsson, director of Icelandic company, Sindraport, said: “With no option to put waste into the ground in Iceland, we have to think smart about how we recycle and come up with solutions that works for both organisations and the environment.

“We have been implementing the ‘revalue’ model for 20 years now and in that time, we have successfully acquired 1000s of tonnes of otherwise discarded material to create entirely new high-value products from streams, such as the fishing industry and smelting plant wastes.

“Endurmeta is ready to bring our model to life in the UK and we’re confident it’s the right time to make this vision a success. We are excited to see the ‘revalue’ revolution come to fruition in the UK.”

“We’re excited about partnering with organisations to find new and innovative ways of revaluing their waste and having played witness to the success of this revolution in Iceland, we are confident that the launch of Endurmeta will play a leading role in eliminating the UK’s waste to landfill,” Tina concluded.

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