On the 20th October 2007 at 1030hrs 20 delegates from the CIWM New Generation Group assembled at Glasgow City Councils MRF at Polmadie Rd. This is Scotland’s largest municipal waste MRF and can process up to 25,000 tonnes of paper, plastic bottles and metal cans per year. The visit started with an introduction delivered by Ewan Hill and Isobel Boylan who are responsible for day to day delivery of recycling efforts and educational work. This presentation was very informative. Particularly note worthy was the efforts in educating primary school kids in recycling.
Delegates then split into 2 groups and began the tour of the plant. Starting at the bottom, the bails were seen stored awaiting collection from GCCs recycling partners. The next of the 3 floors is where the main action is. Many lines of manual sorting, mechanical blowers, trommels, eddy currents and magnets work to separate the materials. The large scale of the operation was a surprise to many delegates and the work of the plant manager Alec Colquhoun and his team in keeping it all running was impressive. The hard work and skill of the operatives on the sorting line was noted by all. There are specific health and safety measures in place to ensure the work is safe and sustainable. The belt moves fast!
The top floor is where the materials are delivered from the extensive collection network that is currently being expanded throughout Glasgow. Here the materials are in stored in bays where the first inspection for contaminants and overall quality begin. They are then delivered into hoppers to begin the journey through the MRF.
After the tour the delegates were treated to a very honest and informative question and answer session and everyone wished to thank Ewan for sharing his obvious skills and experience in recycling. The massive challenges facing Glasgow were discussed and the growing success of the recycling performance noted. The skills and efforts of Glasgow City Council staff in education, collection, processing and finding suitable markets will definitely increase economic and environmental performance further still in years to come.
Finally the NGG committee would like to thank all staff at Glasgow City Council for making this visit such a success and we would wish GCC well in their efforts in recycling.
