In the face of concerns about the validity of current export shipment records, the Recycling Association has launched a trading technology system for the recycling sector which it says will better track materials as they move around the world.
The Association says that the system will “transform quality assurance in the recycling market” and that it is needed to prove its members are compliant.
The Recycling Association has launched ‘Traca’ a digital tool aimed at addressing concerns over validity of export shipping records
The launch of the new technology, called “Traca” comes in the face of concerns about the validity of records and data which recycling businesses currently have and future requirements for more record keeping.
Simon Ellin, chief executive of the Recycling Association, explained that the industry is increasingly regulated and needs data to make sure “the wheels turn smoothly”.
The current data system, he cautioned, is relied on to “be true and accurate”… “but when it passes through different parties and becomes third, fourth or fifth hand information, there’s rarely anything to prove its provenance.”
Compliant
Consequently, he said that the Association had developed Traca. “For our members to be compliant and sustainable, we need a system that is transparent from cradle (the producer) to grave (the reprocessor). This solution can achieve that.”
Mr Ellin added: “Everyone involved in the shipment, from load point to customs; carrier to port operator; and shipper to end user, can review, trust and update data as required, with every change captured for all to see. Furthermore, the government has indicated in its recently published Resources and Waste Strategy that the regulator will be moving to an electronic Annex VII system over the next few years anyway. The Traca is set up to facilitate this process.”
“Everyone involved in the shipment, from load point to customs; carrier to port operator; and shipper to end user, can review, trust and update data as required, with every change captured for all to see.”
Developed with an American export software and transport business, Marine Transport International, the Association is advocating the new solution to recycling companies. It uses an ‘adaptor’ which is said to fit in with existing software.
Marine Transport International and the Recycling Association explained that ‘Traca’ will start off by recording gross mass details of shipments and the electronic Annex VII form which exporters need to complete.
And, the pair report that CS Recycling – which belongs to the Association’s president, Craig Curtis – has tested it through sending seven containers of paper loaded at Potters Bar and shipped abroad. The president’s company found that “the easily accessible system cut admin time from hours to minutes”.
One heavyweight business already using the Traca is international waste paper trading firm Visy. Visy European director Neil Govan said: “As an exporter, we spend a huge amount of time creating shipment information and then sharing it with other parts of the chain. Everyone needs information in different ways, with different systems. With the Traca, we’ll be able to upload, verify and share data in minutes, dramatically speeding up both our own internal operations and the process of moving a shipment from one point to another.”
Adaptor
Marine Transport International has helped develop the software for Traca
MTI founder and chief executive Jody Cleworth, said: “The key is the adaptor, which enables these industry processes to be automated, incorporating blockchain smart contracts and to plug into existing systems without significant disruption.
“Recycling logistics is a complex sector with a multitude of systems and processes. If we went in asking people to deploy yet more software, yet another login, they wouldn’t be interested. By developing this adaptor, we’re able to easily connect existing applications with the solution.
“Employees can carry on with their normal processes, and the adaptor automates that data between the various actors, with the smart contracts verifying the information accordingly. This way, we have a clear operational cost saving between all parties that are using the solution and the ability to deliver trusted data into the multitude of industry systems.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
