Visit to the Materials Recycling Facility

A visit was recently made to the Bywaters Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) over in Bow to witness first hand how the waste collected by the BID recycling scheme was being handled. The scheme has produced nearly 100 tonnes since its inception and all of that waste has gone to Bywaters for processing.

At Bywaters, the BID recycling bags come into the main hall and are loaded onto an upward conveyor belt, they are automatically opened and the content sent off into different locations at the MRF. Cardboard and paper is filtered out along with metals and Tetrapak, then a complex scanner detects differences in plastics coming through the processor and sorts them accordingly. All of the materials are then put into bales and checked for reprocessing, overall the MRF goes through around 500,000 tonnes of recycling per annum and is still looking to expand.

Bywaters boasts a 90 recycling rate per bag it receives and their setup is truly impressive, which is why the BID has the opportunity to invite business members to visit the site and see its complexity for yourself, guided tours are available and well worth the trip. For more information please contact Matthew at the BID office on 020 8741 8157.