Background
Albion Environmental Ltd have been providing waste compositional analysis support at the Glasgow Recycling & Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC) since 2016. 
Albion were commissioned to undertake a waste compositional analysis of input and output waste streams whilst the facility was undergoing construction. This was to help the commissioning team understand the composition of incoming waste and to help them assess the efficiency of the facility.
Albion continued to provide support to the site prior to the commencement of services to the Local Authority. This included the undertaking of Waste Compositional Audits to demonstrate that the plant was attaining its contractual specification.
Client Brief
As an experienced provider of Waste Compositional Analysis to Local Authorities and commercial waste management companies we provide the following as standard:
- Experienced waste analysis site supervisor.
- Trained and experienced members of staff to assist in waste analysing.
- Composition data presented on an excel spreadsheet and reported, at minimum, on a weekly basis.
This is followed by an interpretative report, where required, highlighting key observations and trends.
Results
A recent review of compositional waste analysis data between 2016 and 2020 identified the following observations:
- A significant reduction in the amount of paper & card, newspapers and recyclable paper within the input waste.
- 26% of the incoming waste comprised putrescible materials.
- A decrease in the average proportion of plastics within the organic waste stream between 2016 and 2020, indicating improvements in plant efficiency.
Benefit for the Client
This information helps the site understand the changes to the incoming waste over time, assess the potential percentage of material available for feedstock to their AD plant and highlight improvements to their processes over time.
Albion is still periodically asked to provide compositional support to help the site team monitor changes to the input waste and review specific output wastes from the plant (e.g. RDF and Organic streams).
This information can be used to help the site monitor plant efficiencies and make changes and improvements to the process, as required.