Castlepoint in Bournemouth, the UK’s largest shopping park, has celebrated the recycling results provided during the first months using a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Since the specialist conveyor belt system was installed in April, many of the retailers have ensured that waste from their stores has been separated into dry waste and wet waste – in addition to the continued separation of plastic and cardboard. As many as four operatives have spent up to 2 hours a day hand picking metal, paper, cardboard and plastic items from the slow moving conveyor on the MRF achieving an 80% reduction of waste destined for landfill sites.
John Parker, Deputy Centre Manager at Castlepoint, has led the drive to make the sorting of waste easier and attributes the strong support from the staff at the retailers as being the key to the initial success of the MRF war on waste.
“By sorting and picking though the dry waste separated by the operators, the number of compacted loads we have had to send to landfill has dropped from 4 to just 1 per month,” said John Parker. “This means that waste going to landfill has been reduced to just wet waste such as food that we cannot currently re-cycle. That will be our next target.”
It is hoped that £25,000 investment made to purchase the MRF, and the cost of the operation, will soon be recuperated. John Parker says that each compacted load of general waste sent to landfill costs over £650 on top of the cost to the environment, whilst the recycled plastic, paper, card and metal generates revenue.
“Recycling not only helps to save the planet but it has a knock on benefit to all of our retail tenants who take recycling seriously,” said John Parker.
Castlepoint is not just concentrating on recycling for their retail clients behind the scenes. The thousands of shoppers visiting the park each day are encouraged to recycle for charity. Currently the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance benefits from funds raised through clothing collection bins found on the malls.
