BHS Lands Large Order with SITA UK

The U.K.-based waste management and recycling company  SITA UK has chosen Bulk Handling Systems (BHS), based in Eugene, Ore., to design, manufacture and install four MRF systems at SITA’s facilities in the U.K. The facilities are located in Avonmouth, Birmingham, Darwen and South London. Combined, the MRFs will be capable of processing more than 250,000 metric tons of recyclables per year.

SITA UK says that construction on the first two systems —in Avonmouth and Birmingham — are expected to start later this year.

“These facilities, of which two will be built before the end of this year and two the following year, will provide us with additional processing capacity in strategic areas across the U.K., allowing us to improve our service offering to our customers,” says Ben Harding, SITA UK’s head of infrastructure development. “The new facilities will also lead to the creation of many jobs, both in their construction and long term operation and maintenance.”

All four MRFs are being designed to handle mixed recyclables collected from commercial sources. The materials will look much like single stream, but will be much heavier in OCC than residential collections. Most of the materials will come from office buildings. Some in the industry call it Commercial Single Stream.

While each of the MRFs will be similar in nature, each is customized to the building they will be installed in, and each has changes to maximize the efficiency of local operations. BHS adds that the MRF to be installed at SITA’s Darwen site will be slightly smaller than the other three plants.

The flow of the system is very similar to a single stream plant:
•    BHS OCC Separator to recover OCC;
•    BHS DRS to break and remove glass from the stream;
•    Fines Clean Up System to remove light, shredded fiber from glass rich fines;
•    BHS Polishing Screen to separate Paper from Containers and remove fines;
•    Automated fiber bunkers; and
•    Automated container sorting including NRT Optical Sorters for PET, HDPE, and Mixed Plastics

“We are excited to be working with BHS on these projects,” Harding adds. “From the outset of this procurement they have shown a key understanding of our key objectives in developing facilities that will allow us to recycle a wide range of materials, but also have the flexibility to upgrade them in the future should we wish to target different markets.”

In a SITA release, the company notes that both SITA and BHS have a demonstrated focus on expanding their capabilities in the waste and recycling markets, including upcoming projects such as plastics-to-energy and organics processing, making this an ideal long-term partnership for both.

According to Steve Miller, CEO of BHS, “SITA UK is the type of visionary company that we believe make the best customers for BHS. We are thrilled to be entrusted with helping them grow their business for the future.”

SITA UK is a subsidiary of the recycling and resource management company Suez Environnement. SITA UK serves more than 12 million people and handles more than 8 million metric tons of domestic, commercial and industrial waste through a network of recycling, composting, energy-from-waste and landfill facilities.