T H White: Manitou handlers bring green future for composters

For WormTech's composting venture, the future's green thanks to efficient and reliable Manitou handlers... WormTech is based at a military camp in Caerwent, near Chepstow – once a highly secure munitions dump and manufacturing plant, but now used mainly for training. As a result of the reduction in activity, the place has become a wildlife haven with a wide range of plants and animals, but despite the name, no worms! The company is now one of the leaders in the recycling industry, processing both green and food waste. It has helped Monmouthshire become the third best recycling county in Wales and the first to recycle food waste. Military veteran and ex-bodyguard, Graham Owen has built his company up over a number of years, specialising in a number of fields. As the name suggests, he started out in vermiculture (or ‘worms’ to the rest of us) before becoming a consultant serving the waste industry. Four years ago the company became involved with Monmouthshire Council to trial green waste composting. From a modest, farm-scale trial aiming to treat 2,000 tonnes a year, it grew rapidly to 36,000 tonnes by the end of the first year. It was during this period that Graham teamed up with Jackie Powell, who brought extensive paper recycling experience to the enterprise. Cruise missiles to composting The process of composting green waste involves a significant amount of handling. The waste is shredded into small pieces and mixed with shredded food waste. It is then placed into a bay within a covered building to begin the composting process.

These buildings were once used to store Cruise missile bodies and now make ideal structures for composting. Their strong construction means they can withstand the odd knock from a handler and they can be completely sealed to eradicate vermin and fly problems. To meet all the necessary UK legislation, the batch of waste is closely thermometers and data-loggers each of which takes and records a reading every one and a half minutes. This way, Graham and Jackie can be sure that the entire batch has been above the required 60 degrees centigrade for long enough to kill off any health hazards. After 9 days in the pile, the batch is moved to the neighbouring bay for another 9 days. This process is repeated 9 times to give a total of 81 days composting. The material is then stored for a further three months to cool down, after which it is sieved and blended with peat, soil or other material to provide a range of composts and other products. Among other things, the success of the WormTech operation has been made possible by efficient and reliable handlers. T H White supplied WormTech with its original Manitou MLA628 telehandler which performed so well that it was the first choice when an additional machine was needed. Graham says “the machines provide excellent visibility and manoeuvrability which is essential when we operate in the buildings. The machines’ adaptability means they are used all day long with a variety of Cherry attachments including buckets, sweepers and grabs as well as the pallet forks. They are certainly the most versatile machines on the site.” Friendly, fast and efficient service Martin, the site manager, says that T H White provides the firm with the type of friendly, fast and efficient service support they need to keep the busy Manitous up and running. “We like the way that T H White is able to adapt to fit in with our needs. It makes all the difference when there is so much going on,” Martin comments. In fact, the service provided is one of the reasons that WormTech turned to T H White salesman Andy Daffurn, to supply a New Holland TM155 tractor and Quicke loader to drive the food waste shredder. With each batch of waste being handled approximately 12 times during the course of the composting process, the two Manitous have shifted a staggering 250,000 tonnes of waste between them over the last few years. This has to be a true testament to the strength and durability of these machines. With the company diversifying into a range of new products and opportunities, including floor tiles and ‘energy from waste’, the future will be exciting and challenging. Of course, T H White will be on hand to support WormTech in meeting these challenges and wishes the company a green and prosperous future!

Agriculture