Skip Hire Industry News
Scrap Metal Industry: ‘2010 Will Be A Difficult Year’
We’ve all had a rough 12 months of it, and the scrap metal industry have found it as difficult as everyone else. But a whole twelve months after business minister Baroness Vadera famously got shot down when she announced she could see the green shoots of the economy – the British Metals Recycling Association forecasts that 2010 is going to be difficult but saw the scrap metal industry in ‘good health’.
BMRA director general Ian Hetherington told The Skip: “We anticipate 2010 will continue to be a difficult year.
“We detect that most metal recyclers have planned pretty well and they’ve cut costs according to the economic outlook. The industry is in good health and I don’t see that there will be a huge rise in business failures.
“However, they may come under stress when growth returns and the amount of working cash available is very low because of the recent low trading levels. Firms need to be able to buy more material in order to be able to grow, which puts a lot of strain on the working cash.”
Hetherington explained that it is not just the UK industry that is experiencing difficulties and that those in Europe feel the same way.
“Any weakening of the UK steel industry is bad for business. Our members are very resourceful and have found new markets for this scrap but a strong home for steel scrap is very important to the UK industry. Everyone accepts there is over capacity and somehow or other this must be dealt with but I don’t think this is the death knell to the UK industry.”
He explained that in a global market the UK struggles to be competitive against low-cost producers. This is due to a higher UK cost base, an older infrastructure, which is possibly not as efficient as a result of older plants and equipment and significant over capacity across the world.
In these times, one must think outside the box, and perhaps this is a good time fvor the scrap metal industry – and other industries – to take a look at operations and methods and review their practices. They may be able to turn the archaic into a modern, money making enterprise.
February 23, 2010 at 8:28 am | Skip Hire Industry News | No comment
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Er, Darling, Our Garden Has Swallowed the Skip!
It’s not everyday that you look out of the window to discover your garden looks like an H-Bomb has landed on it.
Unfortunately, for one couple this was the case when they moved into their brand new home and were undergoing some work on it.
The couple were shocked to discover that the 6 cu yd skip that they had ordered had been swallowed by their front garden.
Kate Scott and partner Paul Harding had ordered the skip hire as they were preparing to build a new conservatory.
They had just bought the house in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire and had moved in two weeks ago.
But they were left stunned on Sunday morning when they woke to find the six-yard skip had fallen into a giant hole measuring 15ft by 15ft.
Garden Swallows Skip: Oh dear...
They later discovered that the skip had sunk into a bunker beneath their lawn, which they had not known was there and had not come in the survey they had before they had bought the house.
Ms Scott, 37, said: ‘It was a massive shock, we just couldn’t believe it. The hole is about 20-foot-deep and takes up a third of our front garden
‘It’s really gutting as we only moved in two weeks ago.’
The couple, who have a nine-month-old baby Scott, ordered the skip to be delivered to their house on Friday evening.
They had arranged for builders to start digging out foundations for the conservatory on Sunday.
But when they woke at 6.30am on Sunday morning they were puzzled to find they had no water.
Mr Harding then looked out the window and saw the empty skip had fallen through their lawn into a gaping hole.
Kate, who is 30 weeks pregnant with twins, added: ‘We had to get another skip company to haul it out as the original company doesn’t work on a Sunday.
‘Normally Paul parks his van there. If the skip hadn’t been there, the van would have been.
‘Our biggest problem is we now have nowhere to park and we can’t use our front pathway. Fortunately our neighbours have been lovely and very helpful.’
The couple now hope their building insurance will resolve the problem and the conservatory plans are on hold.
Keith Walker, of K&S Walker Skips, which pulled the skip out the ground, said: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this happen before.
‘The couple called me on the Sunday morning and we used chains to pull it out.
‘Luckily it was empty so it was a fairly easy task.’
Well thanks to Keith at K&S Skips who got up that Sunday to help out. The rest of us were sending up the zeds!
January 12, 2010 at 1:58 pm | Back Issues of "The Skip", Skip Hire Industry News | No comment
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Glass – Stronger Than Concrete in 2010
Glass could be more widespread in construction in the future as researchers in Singapore have developed a recycling method with the added bonus that it is TWICE as strong as concrete.
Waste glass is crushed into powder and then mixed with a liquid chemical created by the team.
The mixture is poured into a mould to form floor and wall tiles, feature walls and insulation material.
It is heated up at below 100 deg C for about six hours, in a process called “curing”. This causes the chemical to bind the glass particles together to form a more durable material, which looks like concrete and has the texture of marble.
The team from the research Polytechnic – Dr Sun Xiaolong, a full-time engineer at the polytechnic’s Environmental and Water Technology Centre of Innovation, and two students – took a year to develop this method, funded by the Tote Board to the tune of £60,000.
At the moment, glass can be recycled into new forms only by being melted at 1,600 deg C in overseas recycling plants.
“Such a method is not permitted in Singapore because it emits toxic gases,” Dr Sun said.
The new method is more eco-friendly because it uses less energy than that needed to melt glass, and produces no toxic gases, he said.
A 30cm square tile made of such a material is expected to cost less than £3 – cheaper than a similar marble tile at £6, but slightly more expensive than common ceramic tiles at £2.
“One of our goals is to make the material as cheap as common ceramic, and as strong as marble. We will also work on increasing the range of products and reducing the time for curing,” said Dr Sun.
The team is negotiating with nine organisations from the construction and waste industries to form a consortium in three to five months. It hopes to commercialise the material in two years.
Exciting times ahead, glass recycling is literally going from strength to strength…!!!
January 11, 2010 at 2:05 pm | Skip Hire Industry News | No comment
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Man Killed in Bin Tragedy
A Manchester man was tragically killed by a refuse truck emptying a bin that he was sleeping rough in.
The man suffocated under the debris inside the vehicle and his body was only found when the contents were emptied at a rubbish tip.
The vehicle automatically crushes the contents of bins once inside it.
Police were alerted after the man’s body was found at a tipping site in Ardwick, Manchester.
The man had been sleeping in a large rubbish bin used by businesses like restaurants in attempt to keep warm from the bitterly cold December weather.
A Home Office post-mortem has revealed the 31-year-old man died as a result of asphyxiation.
There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and the coroner has been informed.
Detective Supt Julian Ross said: “As a result of our enquiries, it would appear this man was homeless and climbed into the bin to escape the bad weather and find somewhere warmer and dryer to sleep.
“We don’t know if he was suffering from hypothermia as a result of the cold but it would appear he was unable to alert those moving the bin that he was inside. As a result they were unaware of the tragic circumstances until they were informed by the police.
“This was a tragic accident and those involved are very upset that this man has died in this way.
“At this time of year when the weather is particularly cold, there will be a temptation for people who are homeless to seek refuge and find somewhere warm to sleep.
“Sadly, as in this case, sleeping in a bin can lead to this sort of tragic accident and someone losing their life, I would strongly urge those unfortunate people who find themselves without a bed at night to remember what happened to this man and try and find somewhere safer to sleep.”
January 10, 2010 at 2:06 pm | Skip Hire Industry News | No comment
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