Recycling innovations continue at pace to tackle ‘Washroom Waste’

The recycling sector is constantly changing with new innovations regularly coming to market to try and reduce the amount of waste we all produce and give materials a new lease of life.

Recent high-profile developments include chemical recycling, to break down plastics to molecular levels; AI-powered robots to pick materials and sort them into appropriate streams; and Smart Bin Technology providing automatic sorting at source, while monitoring fill levels for collections.

One of our favourites that has recently been launched comes from Derby-based firm Go4Greener – and it’s not just us favouring our East Midlands neighbours!

So called ‘washroom waste’, which includes used hand towels, nappies and sanitary products, has always been an issue for the waste and recycling sector. This is primarily due to the nature of the waste, resulting in contamination issues and methane emissions from the degrading organics if sent to landfill. Also, the weight of the waste makes disposal via landfill or energy from waste plants extremely expensive.

Go4Greener has come up with a large-scale solution to the problem. In partnership with Advetec, and using its X022 aerobic digester, Go4Greener is now able to process up to 4,000 tonnes of washroom waste a year. By using accelerated aerobic digestion, the system can break down the organic percentage of the waste within 48-72 hours.

The process involves removing the moisture from the material and stabilising it, which in turn significantly reduces the volume and weight of the waste – independent test results have shown a waste mass reduction of over 51.9%. What remains after the process is a dry, consistent material that can be converted into Solid Recovered Fuel, which can then be used as a sustainable, high-calorific alternative to fossil fuels in power plants and cement kilns.

Instead of burying in landfill or burning untreated waste, Go4Greener is now able to treat the waste locally, which reduces transport costs, while cutting landfill tax exposure and reducing gate fee charges due to the smaller mass of the waste. It also lowers associated carbon emissions, while producing a fossil fuel replacement product – a win, win, win result to tackle a complex issue.

Go4Greener is the first firm in the UK to process washroom waste in the UK and is focusing on clients in the hospitality, retail, commercial and education sectors, where the disposal issue for washroom waste is greatest.   The process in turn also supports customers’ net zero ambitions and ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategies, providing further benefits in addition to just financial.

The world of waste and recycling is constantly evolving as communities try to reduce our impact on the environment. At Casepak, innovation has always been a key part of our operation as we introduce new technologies to make our processes more efficient and effective, and we are always happy to see other companies in the sector breaking the mould to improve how we manage waste. To borrow a phrase from a supermarket, ‘every little helps’, and in this case it could help a great deal as the UK’s strives to be net zero by 2050, while reducing disposal costs for businesses to keep prices and inflation under control.