New Waste Shredder & Trommel Screen Gives UK Waste Recycler The “Edge”

Jan 25, 2023 - 3 years ago

When Bloomfield Composting needed to invest in a new waste shredder and trommel screen for their 18 acre waste and recycling facility at Cannock in Staffordshire they turned to EDGE Innovate, and not without good reason.

Bloomfield Composting was established about 15 years ago and takes in green waste and wood and forestry waste from a number of sources to produce not only PAS 100 compost and BS3882 multipurpose topsoil, but also biofuel and pellets used in power stations and for other applications. Nigel Gill became Managing Director of Bloomfield Composting just over a year ago, having a wealth of experience in the waste recycling and demolition sectors, working for some 30 years alongside David Humphries of the Humphries Holding Group of companies. Today, as an independent, privately owned and managed company, Bloomfield Composting’s facilities are considered to be among the best in the country, taking in general green waste from local authority civic amenity sites, wood waste from demolition sites and forestry waste from tree surgeons and arboriculturalists.

EDGE Innovate supplied the UK company with an EDGE VS420 slow speed shredder and an EDGE TRT620R tracked trommel which have been earning their keep for some months now without any hitches.

Featuring an intelligent operating system which incorporates tramp metal protection that provides the ultimate protection from contaminants and prevents asset damage, the fuel efficient EDGE VS420 is a high capacity, high torque, twin shaft waste shredder that is ideal for the processing of a large array of materials including green waste, MSW, C&D waste, biomass and end of life tyres. Its versatility can be attributed to the fact that a number of shredding programmes and chamber configurations are available. At its heart are twin synchronised, high torque shredder shafts which can be customised to suit a customer’s exact application and desired product piece size.

EDGE’s twin shaft design provides exceptional material intake, ensures less wear, promotes self-cleaning and prevents material wrapping even in the toughest of applications, as Bloomfield Composting quickly discovered.

A Waste Shredder That Is Robust, Operator Friendly, Versatile And Fuel Efficient
“After discussing our specific requirements with the team at EDGE Innovate, we took delivery of the VS420 waste shredder early last year and added the TRT620R track trommel screen several months later,” says Nigel Gill. “We needed a shredder that was robust, operator friendly, versatile and efficient to process a variety of wood waste, a lot of which contained metal such as nails, hinges and door handles. It also needed to break down other difficult waste like tree stumps and roots before putting the material through the high speed shredder, and the VS420 fits the bill perfectly with its different programme options and settings.”

“The operator likes the VS420 because its design is not overly complicated, and it can be controlled remotely from the cab of his excavator, so it is essentially a one man operation,” Nigel continued. “He actually runs two shredders and a screener all from the remote. by putting the shredder into reverse after so many turns, it helps keep the rotors clean and if they are kept clean, you will be cutting back on power and using less fuel, so it is very efficient.”

He added that with easy access to the engine compartment and ground level access to all the filters, routine daily maintenance checks can be carried out quickly, resulting in minimal downtime.

Complementing the VS420 high torque shredder is the EDGE TRT620R track trommel. With its heavy-duty construction design and high manoeuvrability, it has proven to be perfect for Bloomfield Composting as it is well suited to handling biomass, soil and compost, as well as construction and demolition waste.

“EDGE Innovate were very accommodating when we asked for some modifications to the trommel,” says Nigel. “We don’t tend to shred the kerbside collected green waste when it comes into our facility, it goes straight into windrows, but there tends to be quite a lot of oversize now and again and it was catching on the chute, so we had changes to the system to compensate and it is performing brilliantly.”

Edge Trommel Provides The Ability To Track, Screen And Stack Material Simultaneously
The EDGE TRT620R has a unique feature of a remote operated, 180° radial fines conveyor which has been combined with the ability to track, screen and stack material simultaneously. This functionality allows for enhanced production capacities, reduced material handling and the ability to create large radial or windrow stockpiles.

The positioning of the radial fines conveyor whether at 0° or 180° allows the TRT620R to have the same small footprint of a side conveyor trommel format but with a much superior product separation and reduced material contamination.

Another notable bonus is that it can accept several other trommel manufacturers’ drums, enabling operators to take full advantage of their existing drum stock. A quick and simple drum exchange procedure is facilitated via an innovative sliding feeder design and double sided 180° swinging drum doors allowing the screening drum to be exchanged in a matter of minutes.

“We hadn’t dealt with EDGE Innovate before acquiring these two machines, but they’ve been very supportive, although to be honest we haven’t had any issues since putting the shredder and trommel to work; they’ve been reliable and have been performing very well,” says Nigel.

Source: EDGE Innovate