J&B News & Updates

27.01.21

UK lockdowns have led to J&B Recycling processing far more kerbside tonnage at its MRF than usual.

From April to July 2020 tonnages from across seven Local Authority kerbside recycling contracts increased by between 24 and 30% per month compared to pre-lockdown levels. These started to ease between August and October before the impact of Tiers and the second national lockdown.

Traditionally there is a spike in tonnage in January and February due to the festive season effect. Despite the restrictions on gatherings and the expected “quiet” Christmas this December we saw an average increase in kerbside tonnages of 16.06% over December 2019. Going into January each year we expect to see an increase in the tonnage we collect due to Christmas but with an already increased rate we are surprised to have seen an even bigger rise this year..

Hull City Council’s tonnage increased this December by a massive 57.93%, with 231 tonnes more, compared to the previous year. The majority of councils we service also recorded record tonnages for December since they started collecting kerbside recyclables.

Mark Penny, Commercial Manager at J&B Recycling, said: “Over Christmas people were getting more deliveries than usual. I think the purchasing of smaller ticket items, which create waste, has also replaced what some people would be spending their money on such as holidays”

“The lockdown could potentially change the way people work for good, such as to continue working from home and producing more household waste, therefore the waste industry will have to change alongside this too.”

It is clearly obvious lockdowns and restrictions have impacted the tonnage processed, with more people having to stay and work at home resulting in more waste being collected via the domestic waste stream rather than collections from businesses..

Mark Penny added: “J&B Recycling’s ongoing investment has enabled the company to continue to process tonnages quickly and efficiently. The recently increased reception area has allowed for the peak demand of receiving and storing waste, which would usually be in January but has been all year round this year and then some.”

Over the past five years, the Hartlepool operation has successfully installed nine major incremental upgrades that have resulted in a 200% uplift in processing capacity, producing the highest quality products for the strict end commodity markets. Further to this, the business acquired two additional sites doubling capacity which has enabled the company to manage the increased tonnage load coming into J&B to be processed with optimal function.

For all other enquiries at J&B Recycling, please get in touch here.