In the heart of Bristol City Centre, recycling specialists McCarthy Marland have recently upgraded their fleet of waste sorting machinery to offer a more productive and efficient service.
The company runs several sites across Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and Somerset handling a wide variety of waste materials. Their centrally located waste sorting depot in Bristol can handle up to 80,000 tonnes of waste per year, a feat it has been achieving since it opened in 2001. Located just a stone’s throw away from the city centre, the site is constantly busy with a line of trucks and vans entering to deposit waste, whilst bulkers are filled to ship the material out for further recycling. While not the largest of waste sorting sites, the constant flow of materials certainly makes it one of the busiest in the region.
The recent additions to the fleet have again been sourced from Avonmouth multi-make specialists Molson Group. “We have dealt with the team at Molson for several years now and have found them very easy to get on with.” Site Manager Martin Williams commented. “Having the ability to speak to one person for any issues we have across our fleet makes life so much easier for us.”
The company’s previous batch of waste sorting machines included three Hyundai HX140 excavators used to sort incoming waste, load the shredder and load outgoing vehicles. The latest arrivals have seen the standard excavator line up reduced to just two waste sorting machines, this time from Japanese manufacturer Kobelco. The two SK140SRLC-11 machines have been supplied with Geith quick hitches and Keen five-finger grabs allowing them to sort out incoming material and quickly break up larger items before they are fed into the shredder. “We had a few issues with the Hyundai waste sorting machines.” Martin commented. “Whilst Molson looked after us with them, we decided to try out the Kobelco when the time came to change them. So far, the Kobelcos have been a great product, very reliable and the operators like them.”
To increase throughput at the site, one of the previous standard waste sorting excavators has been replaced with a dedicated wheeled material handler in the shape of a Sennebogen 817E. “We decided to try one out prior to purchasing.” Martin commented. “It made an instant impression on us with its speed and ability, so much so we placed the order almost immediately.” Whilst the outgoing 14t waste sorting machine was able to reach into the numerous bulk tippers and walking floors taking processed materials out on a daily basis, it was a slow and laborious task filling each one. With the arrival of the Sennebogen, this has changed immediately.
The 817E is the smallest material handler in the German made Sennebogen range. With over 20 different models ranging from 16 to over 400 tonnes, there is a model for just about every material handling application. Manufactured about 90 minutes East of Munich at Straubing, the company has for the past decade dedicated its production lines to the manufacture of material handling and waste sorting products, crawler and wheeled construction cranes.
The 817E is an ideal model for the McCarthy Marland waste sorting operation as the city centre site is extremely compact. Sitting on a wheeled undercarriage just 4610mm front to back, the machine is ideal for manoeuvring between the different parts of the shed handling the different materials. Fitted with front and rear stabilisers, the 817E always remains stable on the uneven ground.
The compact upper structure is almost the same size as the machine it replaced despite offering far superior reach and ability. With a ground level reach of over 8m, the machine can sit next to a pile of shredded material and load an entire bulker without moving. The load over height is just as impressive with a pin height nearing 10m. With the low roofline in the recycling shed, the full extent of the material handler’s working envelope needed to be curtailed. To enable the machine to load material effectively Molson has supplied the 817E with a 0.5m3 NPK selector grab. Another benefit over the previous machine is the hydraulically raising cab on the Sennebogen. Lifting the operator’s eyeline to over 5m from ground level, they are now able to see into the bodies of the trucks they load ensuring they are filled to capacity and compacted to obtain a full load. “We are now consistently getting over 22 tonnes on each truck.” Martin commented. “This not only increases the volume of material we get in each load but can decrease the number of vehicle movements we need to make on a weekly basis.”
Whilst loading the trucks is a major role for the 817E, it is also the frontline machine for processing material. Using its reach to the full, it spends a great deal of its working day feeding one of the processing lines on site. Again, sourced through Molson Green, the main production machines are from the Terex Ecotec line with a TDS820 slow speed shredder cutting up the material before it is fed directly into a TTS620 trommel. This waste sorting trommel sifts the material into three different sizes allowing the team to keep each size segregated and allowing them to be loaded away far quicker. “The Terex shredder and trommel are a brilliant combination and suit our waste sorting requirements perfectly.” Martin explained. “If they aren’t working, we are in trouble! Apart from regular servicing to keep the shafts built up, they have been very reliable units only suffering from the odd little niggly problem.”
The TDS 820 slow speed shredder features customisable shredding programs allowing it to be configured to handle a variety of material and maximise production. The machine’s 2-metre-long shafts feature a fully welded tooth configuration which makes for massive throughput and excellent material reduction. Its independent gearboxes enable each shaft to be run separately reducing material wrappage for effective shredding operations.
The Ecotec trommel then splits the incoming materials into two different sizes leaving oversize and fines in large piles on the ground ready for loading out. Once each pile is of a sufficient size, the company’s walking floor trailer backs in for the Sennebogen to load it.
In conclusion, Martin and his team have been extremely happy with the latest arrivals from the Molson stable. “The quality of each product is very good, they are all easy to use and gives us the peace of mind we want to be able to carry on our day to day waste sorting operations without worrying about breakdowns.”
