Westminster Waste invest in electric

For wood waste processing, the benefits over diesel can be substantial in certain instances.

Westminster Waste, which only began trading in December 2010, has recently installed a new wood waste processing plant incorporating a Doppstadt AK540VE electric high-speed shredder at their 3.6-acre site in Charlton, South East London. This is the second recycling system involving Blue Group equipment purchased by Managing Director Dominic Moule in recent times, following the installation of a BlueMAC plant to process the C&D waste in 2016. A key benefit of the AK540VE is that the main drive, scraper floor and feed-in drum are precisely coordinated ensuring perfect synchronisation of the machine and maximum efficiency. There is also a continuous, yet steady, infeed of material due to its load sensing technology, all of which are critical to Westminster Waste as they look to achieve a high specification biomass material from the plant.

One of the reasons for Westminster Waste’s exceptionally strong growth since inception just under 8 years ago is their focus on ensuring they have the right pieces of equipment to do the job now, and in the future and there was a number of reasons why the electric Doppstadt was the ideal choice in this instance.

Looking at it from a very basic level, the machine has fewer moving parts as it’s not mobile, so it actually means less can go wrong or needs to be replaced. A further reason is the heat given off. The plant is contained within its own shed to protect the material, and last year, before this plant was installed, temperatures were getting up to 50ºC, due to the previous diesel shredders, screens and handlers all under the same roof. So, imagine what the temperatures would have been like in there this year had the electric machine not been installed! The electric high-speed shredder will also reduce running costs due to electricity being a lower cost than red diesel.

“The plant is working 6 days per week. It processes the higher grade for two days, and is then fully cleaned out with the lower grade then running through the exact same system for two days before the cycle starts again. The insurance company likes it, due to its health and safety benefits, as it is much less likely to catch fire than a diesel driven machine, and the clients like it, due to the quality of the product it’s creating”. Dominic Moule, Westminster Waste