New Fines Clean Up Plant at Lowmac

Lowmac Waste & Recycling has invested in an extremely versatile, tailor-made recycling plant to further increase its waste processing capacity and, specifically, enhance the cleanliness and quality of the end-products created during the recycling process.

Lowmac Waste & Recycling has invested in an extremely versatile, tailor-made waste recycling plant to further increase its waste processing capacity and, specifically, enhance the cleanliness and quality of the end-products created during the waste recycling process. Turning to equipment distributor Blue Machinery Scotland and its sister company BlueMAC Manufacturing for a suitable waste recovery solution, Lowmac Waste & Recycling reports excellent results from their new materials remediation system, which has been installed in the company’s North Ayrshire premises. Currently processing a wide variety of incoming waste streams at around 1000 tonnes per week at a rate of between 25 and 30 tonnes per hour, the plant is more than capable of greater volumes should future needs arise.

The new BlueMAC waste recovery system, designed and built to combine a series of compatible processors and conveyor arrays in a convenient and compact under-cover configuration, is capable of treating a broad range of mixed waste and, consequently, can provide material remediation to a very high quality. Clean fines, secondary aggregates, biomass, animal bedding, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, amongst other saleable materials, are all being produced from this specially designed, multi-tasking waste recovery plant.

Lowmac’s new plant is currently recycling offcuts and woodwaste derived from a kitchen manufacture, as well as trommel fines, C&D, C&I and ash waste. The materials remediation plant is successfully processing the wood waste by removing tramp metals and reducing the incoming stream to -10mm for animal bedding and larger woodchip which is then put through a washplant for further processing to produce biomass. Fines generated during recycling processes can include materials such as wood, aggregates, glass, ceramics and organics and this mixture has traditionally found its way into landfill sites. However, with continually increasing landfill regulations and taxes, recycling professionals are having to ensure even more efficient and effective fines clean-up. The recently introduced Loss of Ignition (LOI) test requires waste recyclers to sample materials to ensure that each load has an LOI of 10% or less in order to be considered eligible for a lower rate of landfill tax. The BlueMAC plant installed at Lowmac’s state-of-the-art materials recovery facility, (MRF) in Irvine exceeds this requirement, taking the fines LOI values well below 10%. The -75mm C&D wastestream is also subjected to metal and lights extraction through the air blower and eddy current separator in the system which, combined with the single bay picking station, results in a good clean end-product ready for washing and further processing into materials suitable for drainage stone, haul roads, Type 1 recycled aggregate etc.

Depending on the material being processed, Lowmac’s new plant starts with a Powerscreen Warrior 1400 screener which ensures the incoming feed material stream is <75mm – the size for which the system has been designed. An elevated conveyor array with an overband magnet feeds through into the covered plant where a Spalec Double Deck separator combines a high technology 3D twin top deck with a flip-flow bottom screen to further separate the material through the two processes to 10-75mm, discharging the high quality clean fines to a collection conveyor and thence to the stockpile. A further conveyor takes the residual oversize material through to a BlueMAC Typhoon ADS (Air Density Separator) to remove the “lights”, with the heavier fractions being taken via transfer and feed conveyors to a single bay picking station and onto a BlueMAC All Metal Separator unit for further ferrous and non-ferrous metal separation and extraction. The remaining cleaned hardcore at the end of the whole process is destined to become crushed recycled aggregates for a multitude of civil engineering and construction uses. Lowmac Recycling was founded in 1973, starting life trading in secondary metals. In 1981, the company moved into waste management with the introduction of skip and roll-on-off hire for household, commercial and industrial waste collection. Lowmac has a secure shredding facility in Ayr and operates two purpose-built waste treatment sites in Irvine from where the company provides a large range of environmental and recycling services. These include ferrous and non-ferrous metals recycling, ELV, WEEE collection and processing, green waste processing, wood and general waste recycling, reclamation of recycled aggregates and soils and the production of animal bedding and biofuel. Lowmac also produces and supplies a wide range of building, civil engineering and landscaping recycled products, from haul-road materials to landfill cover, screened soils and sand, composting and soil improvement material. Other services provided include crane, excavator and loading shovel hire, demolition, haulage and environmental consultancy. Lowmac Recycling has been a Blue Machinery Scotland customer for over eighteen years and, with this latest addition to their modern recycling plant and equipment holding, continues this long-standing allegiance. Commenting on the new installation, Lowmac’s Managing Director Kenny Smith said “This plant is proving to be an excellent and versatile addition to our recycling and reclamation capabilities and is performing very well. As always, we have been extremely well served by Blue Machinery Scotland and have the greatest confidence in their excellent after sales product support; also we are all very impressed with the build quality and productivity of the BlueMAC equipment and their very professional and efficient installation team. Another added benefit for us is the modular nature of the BlueMAC plant which will allow us to expand and enlarge it should the need arise”.