News / recycling
Avonmouth Reuse and Recycling Centre set for £2.8m upgrade
Avonmouth tip is set for a £2.8m upgrade after council papers revealed a vital piece of equipment keeps breaking down at a cost of £70,000 a week.
A new baling machine will be installed at the Reuse and Recycling Centre in Kings Weston Lane to prevent Bristol Waste’s operations grinding to an expensive halt.
At present, the wholly owned city council company has just one baler, at its Albert Road depot where all recycling material from more than 170,000 properties is tipped and automatically separated before being compacted and sold on for processing.
is needed now More than ever
A report to cabinet outlining the waste firm’s business case for Avonmouth, which has since been removed from the authority’s website but is due to be reconsidered next month, said: “The baler unit at Albert Road is currently nine years old and breaks down ten to 12 times per year.
“A separate business case has been prepared to replace the current baler at Albert Road (funded by Bristol Waste Company reserves) to improve reliability, however, having one baler remains a single point of failure for the business even when replaced.
“In line with Bristol Waste’s business continuity plan, an additional baler and can-sort facility are required to reduce the business risk currently experienced with the single baling facility. As Bristol as a city and recycling volumes continue to grow an additional baler becomes increasingly urgent.
“The increased baler capacity will provide additional capacity that we can sell to our neighbours and competitors to provide them with contingency facilities.”
A new baling machine will be installed at the Reuse and Recycling Centre in Kings Weston Lane. Photo: Stephen Sumner
The company’s business plan, which has also disappeared from Bristol City Council’s site, said the work would mean crews in the north and parts of the east of the city would take their recycling to the dump.
It said: “Bristol’s reliance on Albert Road as its only operational baling facility has been highlighted as the key risk to the business for a number of years. The baling machine is becoming increasingly prone to breakdowns.
“With each breakdown costing in the region of £70,000 per week when considering loss of material revenues and massive additional haulage costs, having a second facility capable of processing this material offers a ready-made contingency in the event of further breakdowns.”
The upgrades form the second phase of Avonmouth tip’s redevelopment.
It opened again seven days a week last February following months of work to improve recycling facilities and increase capacity, including Bristol Waste’s first reuse shop.
The city council’s cabinet was due to approve a loan to Bristol Waste for the Avonmouth improvements, which also include a new sorting line, solar-panel roofs and trade bays, as part of the firm’s annual business plan, on Tuesday, January 2.
But it was withdrawn from the agenda at the last minute along with Goram Homes’ 2021/22 plan, which would have included a £10m loan, amid concerns over an increased risk to the authority’s house-building company.
Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.
Main photo: Bristol Waste
Read more: Bristol Waste’s first reuse shop opens for business
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
