A team from Geminor Norway has this spring been responsible for setting up mobile services for baling residual waste in several locations in the UK. The mission has consisted of training regional UK waste producers in efficient baling of RDF for export and storage.
There is a growing demand for these mobile services in the UK, says Chris Baggley, key account manager at Geminor UK.
"When the EfW facilities are temporarily closed for unscheduled maintenance, planned shutdowns, or if offtake is adjusted for other reasons, export of secondary fuels is the natural option. But in contrast to local EfW offtake – which is often transported in walking-floor trucks – the export of secondary fuel is very much dependent on secure baling. The short-term baling units that Geminor is currently establishing are meant to facilitate more efficient export," says Chris Baggley at Geminor UK.
The UK waste market has for many years supplied large quantities of residual waste on which Norwegian and Swedish district heating operators are dependent. Geminor has long been the largest exporter from the UK.
"Due to an unpredictable market, many companies are reluctant in investing in their own machinery and capacity for baling. Hence, some companies are currently in need of onsite, short-term baling services," says Baggley.
Capacity of 300 tonnes per day
Petur Thor Haftorsson is Operational Manager in Geminor Norway, and has been in charge of the Nordic baling team in the UK this spring.
"These mobile services have been commonplace in Norway and Scandinavia for some years now, but we understand that this is the first mobile balling service in the UK," says Haftorsson.
"The capacity for baling varies somewhat, but working around the clock with Flexus machines, it is possible to bale as much as 250 to 300 tonnes of RDF per day. The operation is now going according to plan and we see a great potential for mobile services in the UK," concludes Petur Thor Haftorsson.
