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Its been a great year for Bio Collector’s. Our new CNG vehicles are out providing sustainable food waste powered collections to our many customers and people are taking notice!
(If you haven’t already heard about our big change, click here.)
We were recently presented with the Blue Patch 2019 Circular Economy award for our ongoing CNG conversion project where we are turning the food waste we collect into a specialised fuel that can power our new collection vehicles. Blue Patch champion SME businesses looking to create more socially aware and environmentally friendly products and services and provide a space for them to be seen by like-minded customers.
We are very grateful for their recognition of the hard work it’s taken to get here and the huge environmental benefits our conversion will bring.
Congratulations to all of this years winners and if you want to read more about Blue Patch’s work you can visit their website here.
As many of you may already be aware, Bio Collectors are in the process of upgrading the fleet to run on clean and sustainable Biogas/CNG power, produced from recycling food waste at our Mitcham facility. (For those of you that don’t, click here)
This move away from fossil fuels represents a huge shift in our operations to an even more sustainable service that is ready to meet the burgeoning needs of the circular economy in London. Fueling our vehicles using the very food waste we collect is a quite literal example of how, with a little hard work, it is possible to create modern, effective services that also take into account our environment and the effect it can have on our roads. All these new vehicles are naturally ULEZ compliant, more than meeting the requirements of the London Mayor’s goal of reducing air pollution around the Capital, especially from HGV traffic.
Making it to the SME Green Award final stages is a recognition of the importance of such changes, not only to businesses but also to London as a whole. We hope to inspire other companies to look at their own operations in the same way, moving towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of working for the benefit of everyone.
Keep your fingers crossed for us in December.
Bio Collector’s oversee every stage of the recycling from pick-up to processing to powering the vehicles, demonstrating a real, working example of the circular economy in action all under one roof.
Creating fuel and resources from food waste is at the heart of Bio Collector’s mission and our ongoing investment in developing anaerobic digestion technology to harness it’s full potential will hopefully prove to be an inspiration for other’s looking to meet the burgeoning needs of a circular economy, head-on.
CNG/Biogas power has the potential to help significantly reduce pollution and unnecessary wastage, not only in London but country wide. As a company, Bio Collectors are proud to help lead the way in providing forward thinking and highly sustainable solutions to London’s food waste problem.
Today we are unveiling the first of our new fleet of Biogas powered vehicles, beginning service this week, and the start of our conversion to being an even more sustainable business!
All of us at Bio Collectors are very excited to be embarking on such a huge shift away from the traditional fossil fuels and the associated environmental cost that come with using them, especially as a company operating vehicles across London.
Our range of new collection vehicles will be powered using Biogas generated from the very same food waste that we collect and recycle at our AD facility in Mitcham, making our vehicles some of the most environmentally friendly on the road and more than meeting the new Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) standard for London.
Read the full release below:
London’s largest independent food waste collector has completed preparations for the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) by revealing plans to convert all 25 of its vehicles to run solely on compressed natural gas (CNG) produced by its anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in South London.
Bio Collectors, which collects food waste from within the M25, has today taken delivery of seven CNG-fueled food collection vehicles that will replace trucks in its 25-strong fleet. They will be fueled by methane gas produced by its Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant in South London.
CNG is a more environmentally-friendly method of powering Heavy Goods Vehicles than diesel, but the Bio Collectors’ CNG station goes one step further, moving production of the gas away from drilling or fracking. The gas produced by the AD plant is zero fossil fuel as it is created entirely from food waste.
Operating an anaerobic digestion (AD) plant that processes up to 100,000 tonnes of food waste annually, Bio Collectors site is capable of generating the equivalent of 6mW of gas and 1.7mW of electricity every hour. The by-products of the recycling of food waste already power the plant and on-site offices, as well as feeding fuel into the national grid.
The move coincides with the implementation of ULEZ in the central London Congestion Zone on 8 April, designed to drive an improvement in air quality across the capital.
Managing Director Paul Killoughery said: “We welcome the introduction of ULEZ as it will improve air quality in London. Our biogas-powered vehicles will play their part in lowering emissions in London without the added implication of having to generate electricity, which may not be so clean. By fueling them with the food waste we collect, we can ensure that all our services are ready for the environmental challenges of the future. Bio Collectors is closing the waste loop in London and turning food waste into a valuable and sustainable fuel.”
Electric cars are the air quality solution favoured by the Mayor, but research revealed that CNG would be the most viable option for Bio Collectors. Killoughery added: “We did look at electric vehicles, as their exemption from the congestion charge and road fuel tax would make them the logical choice – CNG trucks are liable for both. But electric vehicles are not available at the payloads we require and would take all night to recharge, making them impractical and logistically impossible due to the significant space needed for separate charging stations for 25 vehicles. Alternatively, a CNG pump can refill a truck as quickly as on a traditional forecourt.
“We have long championed an environmentally-friendly attitude, with that mentality forming the basis of what we do at Bio Collectors – AD is the most effective way of processing and recycling food waste with the least harmful impacts. Our decision to convert our fleet to CNG fuel further consolidates our stance and we are proud to lead the charge ahead of ULEZ.
As the UK battles to reduce its £20bn food waste bill, bread still tops the charts as one of the most wasted products at all stages.
With 44% of bread in the UK estimated to be thrown out because of perceptions is unfit to eat or stale, Keep Britain Tidy believes the answer to reducing bread being thrown away lays in teaching people how to use this often binned loaf end to create something new and tasty!
In conjunction with the North London Waste Authority (NLWA), Keep Britain Tidy are due to run several free workshops across north London to help show people that just because a crust is a little stale, does not mean it cannot be eaten.
These chef-led workshops aim to give people some practical advice on how to store, use and recycle their bread to reduce waste in the first place and to make good use of those leftovers.
As part of this, Bio Collectors were invited to provide their views as part of a BBC Breakfast news story focusing on this important issue.
Hear what our MD, Paul Killoughery has to say with the full story due to air at 6.50am, 7.50am and 8.50am on Wednesday 20/2/19.
Alternatively you can follow our twitter feed at www.twitter.com/biocollectors for all the latest and to be kept up to date on food waste news in the UK.
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a new service offering London businesses an easy way to recycle food waste.
Starting service in 2019, our new pre-paid bag service offers private waste collections for businesses that may not have the space for large food waste containers, or generate enough to justify a regular scheduled pick up.
Businesses can sign up and simply purchase a roll of our new recyclable food waste bags and use them as needed – with collection services available up to six times per week. With all costs covered up front, the service offers an efficient way for any food waste producing business to dispose of it sustainably whilst reducing overall waste charges. Even better, your food waste will be taken to our local AD site in Mitcham, where it is converted to biomethane, electricity and fertilizer. Nothing goes to waste!
The new pre-paid bag service will initially only be available in selected London post-codes only, with further areas planned in the near future. For more information and to sign up, please visit the new Bio Collectors website: www.biocollectors.com or call 0333 900 9333.
Our hard work within the food waste collection and recycling industry has recently been recognised again, as we scooped not one, but two industry awards and another two the previous year. It demonstrates all the continued hard work and effort that our whole team has put in pushing Bio Collectors to the forefront of the food waste recycling industry in the UK.
