Grays Waste Management

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1 Grays Waste Management WRAP Cymru (Waste & Resources Action Programme in Wales) works directly with the recycling industry, specifically on waste management and materials recovery, and with reprocessing companies and manufacturers that use recycled content throughout the manufacturing process. One of WRAP Cymru s main aims is to grow the recycling and reprocessing sector in Wales by providing support, funding, expert advice and market information to businesses. Many organisations have already benefited from WRAP s support, including Grays Waste Management, an Anglesey-based company that collects and recovers waste from businesses across North Wales. Grays has worked with WRAP since it established a presence in Wales in 2007, and was the first Welsh company to be awarded an SME recycling grant from WRAP.

2 Overview Grays Waste Management collects waste from around 600 companies across North Wales including Stenaline Ferries, Vion Foods and Anglesey Aluminum. The company currently recovers between 50-60% of the waste it collects including wood, plastic, glass, paper, electrical products and scrap metal, and sells on the recovered materials to a variety of end users including wood chip factory, Kronospan, and the UPM paper mill in Shotton. Owner, Matthew Davis, explains that the company was first established in 2007 to meet an obvious demand in the area. Since 2007, the company has doubled its head count and tripled its turnover. This year it will handle 15,000 tonnes of waste and 20,000 tonnes of biomass. We first had the idea for setting up Grays Waste Management after becoming aware that Anglesey had the highest waste disposal costs in the UK as there are no landfill sites either in Anglesey or in our neighbouring local authority, Gwynedd. It was clear that we could set up a facility to recycle and reprocess as much waste as possible, which would not only help cut costs for companies who were paying to send their waste to landfill, but also help the environment by reclaiming as many useful materials as possible from this waste said Matthew. As well as recovering waste, Grays also works with customers to reduce waste from the front end of the supply chain. In 2007, with support from the Welsh Institute for Sustainable Environments at Bangor University, it introduced a free consultancy service to customers to advise them on ways to minimise the waste they produce and become more sustainable as a result. How WRAP helped Since 2007, WRAP has worked closely with Grays on a number of projects including setting up a source-segregated waste collection for businesses. Thanks to WRAP funding, Grays was able to purchase containers to store various types of waste as well as vehicles to transport the waste from participating businesses. WRAP Cymru s support has been invaluable in the success of Grays business.

3 WRAP Cymru s support has enabled us to help our customers in their efforts to become more resource efficient by reducing their waste from the outset. As there isn t a trade waste recycling collection service on Anglesey, we aim to fill this gap by collecting segregated waste and thereby saving time and energy during the recovery process. We have already worked with Irish Ferries to put this system into practice and it is working very well. Matthew Davis Company Owner Grays Waste Management Matthew continues: Segregated waste collections have been proven to reduce waste and we are extremely grateful for WRAP Cymru s support in helping us to implement this innovative scheme in Anglesey. The success we have enjoyed so far with the project goes to show that if you can reduce the amount of waste that is created at the front end of the supply chain, it will ultimately mean that less waste will end up in landfill. Commenting on the success of Grays activity in Anglesey, Beth Winkley, Manager for WRAP Cymru, said: Grays have demonstrated that simple measures can be taken to help businesses fulfil their environmental obligations while also saving them money and valuable resources. By spotting a gap in the market, Grays has been able to set up a successful waste management service which is benefiting local businesses while helping the local environment. We have been delighted to be able to help them on their way by providing the necessary funding and support.

4 The future Grays Waste Management is the company behind Anglesey Ecoparc Môn which has received planning permission for a 75,000 tonne recycling centre and a 25,000 tonne anaerobic digestion (AD) plant due to be up and running by Easter Grays is aiming for the new plant to recover 85% of the waste it processes. WRAP Cymru worked closely with Grays throughout the planning application process and has funded an Interim Manager to get Anglesey Ecoparc Môn up and running. Our Interim Manager is working with us on the AD facility and will be helping us find customers, source and market the material we can recover, help select the relevant technology, set up procedures and assist with recruiting the right staff for the job said Matthew. He continues: We have also received a great deal of support from WRAP throughout the planning of the AD plant. They have helped us with technical appraisals, reviewing the proposed feed stocks and assisting with our community consultation. We look forward to developing future projects in partnership with WRAP to help deliver the Welsh Assembly Government s National Waste Strategy and to work towards Anglesey becoming self-sufficient in waste treatment. In the short time that WRAP has had a base in Wales, we have been able to help dozens of companies in the recycling and waste management sector to establish or grow their business. We are able to help them access a wealth of information and expertise as well as financial support and we look forward to helping many more similar companies fulfil their ambitions in the future. Beth Winkley, Manager, WRAP Cymru

5 Looking to the future, Beth says she hopes more businesses like Grays Waste Management will benefit from WRAP Cymru s support. Through its Interim Manager support scheme, WRAP can provide up to 30,000 in funding. More information can be found at: As part of the new Ecoparc Môn, Grays also intends to sign up to WRAP s equip Residual Value Guarantee Scheme - an initiative designed to help small and medium-sized companies secure financial help on recycling machinery. The scheme is an additional line of credit which enables businesses to spread the cost of purchasing recycling equipment. This initiative is open to recycling companies working in the glass, plastic, wood, paper, aggregates, batteries, plasterboard and organics sectors. More information can be found at: If we are to meet the demanding recycling targets put in place by the Welsh Assembly Government and achieve the ultimate objective of zero waste, we need our recycling network to be as robust and effective as possible, reaching all areas of the country and making it as easy as possible for consumers and businesses to participate. A key part of our role is to help companies like Grays in their efforts to improve this network and we are keen to help as many organisations as possible to access our support. Beth Winkley, Manager, WRAP Cymru While steps have been taken to ensure its accuracy, WRAP cannot accept responsibility or be held liable to any person for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with this information being inaccurate, incomplete or misleading. This material is copyrighted. It may be reproduced free of charge subject to the material being accurate and not used in a misleading context. The source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged. This material must not be used to endorse or used to suggest WRAP s endorsement of a commercial product or service. For more detail, please refer to our Terms & Conditions on our website - Waste & Resources Action Programme Suite 16 Bay Chambers West Bute Street Cardiff CF10 5BB Tel: info@wrap.org.uk Helpline freephone