Veolia has launched a service designed to provide a “complete and compliant way” of disposing of compressed gas cylinders.
The waste management company today announced its recent investment in a dedicated facility, located at its Empire Treatment Plant in Aldridge, which removes and treats the contents of the cylinders “to ensure full compliance with all statutory and environmental requirements”. Cylinders are emptied and then usually returned to the producer.
The company described the service as a “new solution” which is backed by a network of specialised facilities across the UK which have the capacity to safely manage gas cylinders, and covers all types of gas cylinder arising from a range of sources including research facilities, industry, healthcare, universities and recycling centres.
Testing work at the Aldridge site
A statement from Veolia explained: “Some cylinders contain special gases that may have an impact on the environment and require particular handling and disposal processes are also covered by the Veolia service. Before processing the technical teams review each consignment so that the contents can be carefully extracted, in a controlled environment, with the resultant gases either processed through Veolia’s licensed chemical treatment facility or safely destroyed. Empty cylinders are then repatriated to the original supplier or recycled if they cannot be returned.”
Treatment
Commenting on the new service Kevin Hurst, Veolia’s chief operating officer for industrial customers UK, said: “As a complete recycling and recovery solution this new service represents a significant step forward for the treatment of pressurised gas cylinders. This in turn will help our customers safely deal with unwanted cylinders, and meet regulatory and environmental requirements.”
Veolia said that the service adds to the company’s existing capabilities that can manage hazardous wastes ranging from aerosols and batteries to regular drum consignments and management of low level radioactive materials. These specialist services deliver “compliant hazardous waste collection and handling, advanced treatment recycling and recovery technologies along with site registration”.
Empire Works
The Empire Works are located 2km north of Aldridge, Walsall and the site is largely developed for waste treatment.
The site is thought to process about 100,000 tonnes per year of various hazardous and non-hazardous wastes including acids, alkalis, sludges, aqueous wastes and air pollution control residues from waste incineration processes authorised through an environmental permit issued by the Environment Agency.
(Below: picture of the gas facility at Veolia’s Aldridge Empire Treatment Works.)
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
