green waste disposal

[jose]

General question really.

 

Being asked to quote to remove green waste ( gardening arisings ie grass weeds branches leaves etc). 8-10 tones a wk at various sites around london.

Most likely it will be stored in building sacks, to be collected 1-2 times a weeks.

 

Currently they take it to the local tip and pay £80-100 per tonne.

 

They are currently trying to cuts costs so have asked me if i can provide a better solution.

 

Anybody have any ideas/ input or is this already to tight a margin to make it worth getting into to.

 

Was considering getting a shredder ( like a timberwolf) if i can make it pay. Also does this waste, once shredded have any decent use at all( ie like with woodchips which can be used for power stations etc)?

 

many thanks

Jose

[Joy Yeomans]

it will take careful consideration to go into something like this, as to resell as any form of decent compost, it will have to be put into windrows to create heat to kill any weed pathogens etc, also any windrows will create heat, there may be some smell as they need turning, then you get into the environment agency rules re; watercourses with regard to runoff

 

theres a fairly big company near us and they are doing it in a big way and get nothing but bad press from local community every week - i would stear clear, unless you can get your setup well sorted from the beginning and make it pay

[jose]

i had not really thought of it from that angle!

 

Interesting, and not really in a good way!

 

thanks for the reply!

 

anybody used a Eco-Combi?

Its spec says it can chip and shred. is this a viable option for a tree surgeon as surely i would never have any sweepings etc ever again! cos losing chippings is not problem but rubbish is.

 

cheers

[combined tree services]

i personally would steer well clear , the red tape involved in wate transfer and disposal is a nightmare and if im honest without 100k worth of screening kit and shredding plant i dont rally think you would be able to produce decent quality compost . However if you know you have got large quantities of green wast coming in why dont you spek to the local green waste companies in your area and see if you could get a decent price from them , you may well be able to make a small proffit from the haulage of green waste

 

hope this is of help to you

[jose]

humm i think you may be right.

 

ok thank you for your input, i really dont want to invest in something to find out its not going to work out ( especially financailly as really thats why we all do it!).

 

Many thanks

 

Jose

[chestnut]

i agree with comments already made - but just from another angle ....

 

a local guy to me runs his home off of green waste material (small stuff not branches or anything) - he has a digestor thing set up - the green waste goes in and after three days it comes out as composted pellets (i think - as i haven't been down to see the set up)

 

he is crying out for green stuff to digest - and as he creates way too much power for his needs - he gets paid to put it back on to the grid

 

you could do with finding someone like that near you

 

for bigger stuff - that the digestor can't take - the locals send their green waste to a local organic farmer - and he takes just about everything and turns it into organic fertiliser

 

so it might be worth you doing a bit of research locally - to see if anybody in your area has the same sort of set ups - just as a thought

[renewablejohn]

If you had more waste per week you could use an anerobic digester to turn it into electric and compost. For a rough guide go on the portergester site were they have a calculator to work out how much tonnes per week converts into power. While your on the site look at the case study and make up your own mind whether the capital investment is worth the return.

[rovers90]

A friend of mine has a waste reception site where he takes in the garden wheelie bin collections from the local councils. They pay him £20 per ton to take it in. However, as per previous comments you need a very large investment in machinery to actually take in green waste and end up with compost (it is excellent compost mind you - my allotment certainly thrived on it this year).

 

You will also receive a lot of complaints from local residents. The locals have even formed an action committee against my friends company - even though the Environment Agency state his is the best run site they have in the area! Complaints range from smells (even on still days) to the reversing beeper on the loading shovel (even at times when the site is shut). The site is on an industrial estate but it seems the blame for anything unpleasant gets dumped with my friend.

 

And then there is the Environment Agency. They have new rules in force and as I understand it up to 500 tons per year you do not require a permit. If you take in between 500 and 75000 tons per year you need to apply for a permit. The price for the initial issue is a five figure sum followed by a four figure sum annually. Now if you are taking in 50000 tons per year the fees are affordable. If you only take in 3000 tons per year, it makes it uneconomical. Why they have such a big range without a graduated scale nobody knows.

 

If you can find someone locally with a green waste site who would charge you £20 per ton to dump it and you can charge £40 per ton to remove it, you may make a bit but I certainly would not consider processing it yourself.