Viridor has upgraded equipment at its Priorswood materials recycling facility in Taunton with a new chain conveyor, fabricated and installed by recycling equipment engineering specialist Middleton Engineering.
Designed to increase capacity and speed, the new conveyor is expected to handle between 15,000 and 20,000 tonnes of recyclables, including paper, card and plastics, a year.
Kevin Bishop, regional recycling manager for Viridor, explains that the conveyor feeds an existing picking station where unwanted materials are removed from the waste stream before being baled for recycling.
"This is an important upgrade for the Priorswood site ... which will directly benefit our service to customers across the region," states Bishop.
"Reliability is crucial to us and Middletons have been able to come up with a number of design improvements to make routine maintenance and access to the cleaning pit easier."
Other improvements include the design of a spring loaded levelling gate, designed to ensure a smooth and consistent flow of material along the conveyor, so avoiding the feast or famine characteristics of some conveyors.
"Viridor has used Middleton Engineering over a number of years for both balers and conveyors. It's not just the quality of the machinery: it's the full service that makes the difference for us," states Bishop.
