MDL taps into circular economy with recycling contract renewal

MDL Marinas has renewed its recycling and waste disposal contract with leading waste management specialist SUEZ recycling and recovery UK.

Tapping into the circular economy, MDL says the new contract enables it to increase the amount and type of waste it can recycle, from food to ferrous metals, which will then be transformed into new products or used to generate electricity.

“Under our new agreement with SUEZ, no waste will be sent to landfill,” says Joe Walton, MDL’s head of health, safety and environment. “Everything will now be recycled or recovered, delivering a ‘zero waste to landfill’ solution.

“Being part of the circular economy in this way, as opposed to taking the outdated linear ‘take, make, waste’ approach, we’re able to move in the desired direction of becoming the most sustainable marina operator, ensuring our berth holders are able to enjoy their boating in the most environmentally friendly way possible.”

Food waste will be collected and transferred to Environment Agency regulated and approved processing sites for anaerobic digestion to generate heat, which in turn drives a generator to harvest electricity.

Glass waste will be sent to a recycling facility where it is colour-separated and crushed, ready for melting and making into new products, while ferrous metals will find a second life as steel wire, and cables are reused by cable manufacturers and extruders.

Other general waste will be sent to an energy recovery centre where it will be incinerated to generate electricity, which SUEZ returns to the national grid, or converted into refuse derived fuel (RDF).

According to MDL, paper, plastic, cardboard and non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium cans, are also recovered, recycled and repurposed.

“To make it as easy as possible for everyone at the marinas to recycle, as part of the new contract, we’ll be standardising the waste bins across the group,” continues Walton. “This standardisation will make it simple to identify what materials need to go in which bins, with a view to further increasing the amount recycled.

“What’s more, each new waste bin will be individually microchipped to provide real time data for each individual collection.”

Over the past nine years, MDL says its commitment to recycling as much of its, and its customers’, waste as possible has resulted in 1,111 tonnes being recycled, keeping it out of landfill and making it available for reuse.

“We’re delighted to continue our work with MDL Marinas,” says Steve Denton, account manager at SUEZ. “We’ve been working with the team for almost a decade and it’s a real pleasure to work with a company which is so committed to the environment, ensuring its marinas and offices are recycling as much as possible, which we can then process and manage.

“Over the years, through MDL’s efforts working with us, the amount of material that’s been recycled has increased by 37%. Education through staff training and onsite signage play a key role in this, ensuring that both MDL’s employees and customers are aware how to minimise waste and recycle effectively, ensuring that all the different locations are working towards a more sustainable future.”