Wood Yew Waste Invest 1m To Take It Into a new era

20 April 2011

The wood recycler announced it is well positioned for growth after investing £1m in a new modern building, plant and machinery at its Exeter site

Clem Spencer, founder and managing director, said: "The unit is much bigger than our previous premises on the business park." Also the chairman of the Wood Recyclers' Association, he went on to comment: "We have a 2.5 acre site which includes a 22,500 square foot building and a concreted yard of half an acre.

"We now have the most modern wood recycling facility in the UK to take us into a new era," he said.

Until early 2010, Wood Yew Waste's wood chipping operation was based at a six-acre site in a disused Plymouth quarry, which operated under an exemption.

However, as the operation was out in the open, the company had little control over noise and dust. This, coupled with changes to the permitting regulations and a need to keep pace with the growth of its business, prompted the move to the enclosed facility in Exeter.

Now, the company has purchased an IQR FlexHammer 1800 wood chipper, a Warrior 1800 screen and a water mist spray system to minimise airborne dust inside the building. Outside it uses a DustBoss to keep it under control.

Expansion

The company still retains a bulking station in Plymouth and has opened another one at St Dennis in Cornwall only this week, which both feed material into the Exeter branch.

"The beauty of us now is that we cover the whole South West Corridor, from Taunton to Penzance", said Mr Spencer. "The Cornwall dept will increase out recycling by an estimated 250 tonnes of wood and 100 tonnes of plasterboard a year."

From an initial turnover of less than 50 tonnes of wood per week, the company has steadily increased the volume it recycles to over 800 tonnes per week today.

Now, the company accepts all types of waste wood ranging from pallets and packaging waste to demolition timber, joinery off-cuts and general household wood waste. Its client base ranges from national waste management companies and local council civic amenity sites to skip companies, builders and the public.

More recently, Wood Yew Waste has expanded to provide recycling services for MDF, hardboard, sawdust and, notably, plasterboard.

Spencer said: "Plasterboard recycling is our new age market and we meet the PAS 109 standard. The end products we sometimes blend with animal bedding and we are hoping to sell some to a local tile-making company to use it in their compound to make new tiles.

"This was a major financial commitment for us but we did it with confidence as we had already grown enormously as a business.

"Having this facility has given us more space and opened the door for further growth."

For more information please visit www.wood-yew-waste.com

Darrel Moore