incineration

As winter begins to settle the dangers of Avian Flu really hit home across the UK.

A state of emergency has been declared across the UK this winter by the UK Chief veterinary Office Christine Middlemiss as Avian Flu continues to spread across the country, affecting wild and captive birds alike.

Poultry farmers are being warned to be vigilant and to be prepared for what could be a potentially devastating endemic of the latest mutated strain of the H5N8 virus, which has been causing major difficulties across Europe recently.

The dangers of infection and the spread of this disease are becoming apparent through the clear impact that it is having on the wild bird population. Which are being noticeably affected and reports are increasing of multiple swan deaths being linked to this latest virulent strain of Bird flu that is sweeping across the UK.

In Worcestershire, rescuers have taken care of dozens of dying birds and in Blackpool, many Swans and Cygnets have been found dead in Stanley Park. In Dawlish in Devon, post-mortems have been completed on several swans and cygnets which confirmed the worst fears that the latest strain of Avian Flu H5N8 was responsible.

All of the sites affected in the UK are hundreds of miles apart, highlighting the ferocity of this latest strain. It’s believed to have been brought in by migrating wild birds traveling across Europe. This strain was responsible for the mass and widespread deaths of birds during 2016 and 2017.

To combat the fears that this virus could potentially wipe out massive numbers of chickens, turkeys, and other poultry stock across the UK, the government has declared a special Avian Influenza Prevention Zone in England, Scotland, and Wales. This zone coincides with the increase in responsibilities for farmers to manage their own biosecurity measures.

Outbreaks in chicken farms and broiler houses are being monitored and already tens of thousands of birds have been culled in broiler houses in Cheshire, Kent, Leicestershire, and Herefordshire.

Although most noticeable in the wild swan population this latest strain of Bird Flu has also been responsible for deaths in Pink Footed Geese, Buzzards, Curlews, Greylag Geese, and Canadian Geese, indicating just how virulent the disease can be crossing from species to species.

Although Wild birds often get the blame for spreading the disease, in most instances they are infected with the virus from coming into contact with infected poultry, which in many instances are being moved from region to region.

As always the importance of following strict biosecurity measures is a priority to poultry farmers. It’s required for farmers to keep strict distancing measures in place to prevent mixing between wildfowl and captive birds.

Across the UK in 2020, new regulations have recently been implemented affecting all poultry farmers. Regardless of whether they have hundreds or thousands of birds, all farmers are now legally required to adhere to the new biosecurity measures to protect themselves and their livestock.

The most notable points of the New Avian Influenza Exclusion zone include:

  • Keepers with more than 500 birds must restrict access to their site for non-essential visitors.
  • Workers' clothing and footwear must be changed before entering bird enclosures.
  • Site vehicles must be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
  • Make areas, where birds are kept, are uninviting to wild birds, for example removing wild bird food sources and placing netting over ponds.
  • All livestock must be fed in enclosed areas
  • Movement between enclosures must be kept to a minimum.
  • Clean and Disinfect any contaminated areas.

In fact, if you are aware of the biosecurity measure in place on pig farms, you will see the similarity in many elements of the guidelines.

To maintain biosecurity, we would always recommend installing a dedicated agricultural incinerator onsite to ensure that farmers are able to complete many of these steps easily. By handling and disposing of fallen stock onsite rather than waiting for a collection agency removes risks of contamination spreading. Incinerating onsite removes the need for collection agencies, which can potentially bring infection onto your farms.

As such, we have already been in discussion with several of our regular customers on how to enforce biosecurity measures on-site alongside installing additional machines across more sites. In doing so, we aim to help them reduce the number of visitors and increase the speed and efficiency of disposing of any infected, fallen, and culled animals.

If you believe that you may have come into contact with or witnessed a bird with Avian Flu you must either contact DEFRA as a member of the public on 03459 335577. Alternatively, if you are a keeper of birds you should notify the APHA on 03000 200 301 as soon as possible.

For further information please visit the following links

How to spot avian flu – Click Here

Guardian article on avian flu impacts on Swans – Click Here

UK Government guidelines on avian flu – Click Here

New UK biosecurity regulations – Click Here

BBC reporting on UK broilerhouse infection – Click Here

The rising popularity of animal incineration across America

This year has seen a global shift in waste treatment. As the demand for secure disposal of hazardous waste has never been so accepted. While the mainstream media is focusing on the visible impact of the Coronavirus the farming industry across the USA is feeling the effects in an entirely unexpected way.

Agricultural incinerators have always been one of our most popular ranges, in fact since 1982 we have supported farmers worldwide to combat epidemics ranging from Foot and Mouth Disease in the 1980s, BSE in the 1990s, and Bird Flu in the 2000s each disease needing to be addressed quickly and cleanly. Incineration is the most reliable and proven technique to protect biosecurity and livestock.

In fact, 2020 marks the first time for 20 years that the USA has imported Beef from the UK. Ending a ban that was imposed following the last major outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE) in England. As such it should be recognised that the impact from a widely spread biosecurity outbreak can last for years and cost the industry hundreds of millions in lost income.

One of the key lessons we learned from decades of this experience is how to safely dispose of fallen stock and most importantly how not to.

Across the USA this is a message that is beginning to be understood and acted on for a different reason. As the greatest threat to biosecurity to agricultural farmers has turned out also to have been the Coronavirus. Although the risk to animal infection is not a factor it is the impact felt on the economy and the workforce that has been the issue.

A number of the US’s largest slaughterhouses have been heavily impacted and several closing, which has led to a drastic bottleneck and shortage on capacity. Leading to many farmers having to slaughter their animals on the farm itself. Unequipped and without adequate disposal facilities, they are left having to then either bury them in unlined pits or burn them on open-air pyres. Both approaches as you may well know are extremely damaging to the environment and carry a very high risk of spreading diseases.

In the UK and the rest of Europe, these approaches have long been outlawed due to the inherent risks that they pose to the environment and in case of infection and cross-contamination. Due to this factor, many of the farms in this region already have Addfield machines on-site handling their daily waste as well as being able to be called into action in case of a biosecurity emergency.

It is estimated that an additional 10 million pigs were disposed of directly by farmers across the USA.

In America it has already been estimated that by the end of September more than 10 million chickens and 10 million pigs could have been slaughtered and disposed of directly by the farmers. Many farmers lacking the facilities have resorted to one of the earlier mentioned approaches, which are currently in the process of being review to be outlawed for environmental reasons.

Having learned historically the benefits of managing incineration onsite, promptly and cleanly with an Addfield incinerator we stand behind the plans to ban these two outdated and dangerous approaches.

The dangers of insecure disposal.

Unlined pit burial – Through being placed into unlined pits the risks of contaminating the soil and local water table are very high. As the animals decompose, bacterial and fecal matter poses a dramatic threat to the environment and livestock. If any animal is infected with a disease such as African Swine Fever or Avian Flu, the risks of the disease lying dormant before reappearing weeks, months, or even years down the line cannot be underestimated.

Open-air burning.

Long banned in the UK and Europe, open-air incineration is potentially one of the most toxic ways to dispose of any waste, biological or otherwise. As learned during the foot and mouth crisis in the 1980s. Burning infected cattle can speed up the spread of a virus as the temperatures achieved are insufficient to destroy the bacteria. Whilst the act of burning distributes the particles into the atmosphere allowing diseases to spread to farms miles away. Additionally, there are risks to human health burning compounds with proven carcinogenic properties that can lead to reproductive, developmental, and immune system problems in the future.

The law is going to be changing.

Environmental health NGO’s and the public are petitioning the government to formally outlaw these approaches to protect the industry and the local environments.

The petition, filed with the US Department of Agriculture and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), on 29 June by NGOs including Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

In addition to the generally accepted biosecurity risk of culling. Consideration also needs to focus on the manner in which the animals have been slaughtered having a huge impact on the environment.

In the instances of pigs if they are shot and buried there is a risk of lead contamination in the ground. As for poultry one of the most commonly used approaches in the USA is through ‘foaming’. This foam contains Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS which are also referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ due to the long-term damage that they can wreak. These chemicals have been linked to various cancers, kidney problems, and suppressed immunity diseases in humans. These are not things that you want to enter the local food chain or becoming airborne pollutants.

The Addfield A50L agricultural incinerator is the ideal solution for poultry farmers in America.

The only consistently safe way to dispose of these animals without releasing potentially fatal pathogens or bacteria back into the environment be it airborne or ground-based is appropriate incineration with an Addfield agricultural incinerator.

Addfield is currently working with a number of farmers across the United State to install and commission a selection of machines from our comprehensive agricultural incineration range. Ensure that the most environmentally sustainable approaches to disposing of fallen livestock including pig, poultry, and cattle are established.

To learn more about the Agricultural range of incinerators available from Addfield Click Here

To learn more about the challenges that the US is currently facing due to the Coronavirus and Biosecurity Click Here to read a recent article published in the Guardian

Why a brick refractory is best.

Why should you buy from Addfield? That’s a completely reasonable question, isn’t it? And one that we will always tell you is the right choice for you to make. ‘Buy an Addfield, we have been trusted for over 35 years and our machines speak for themselves,’ of course we are going to tell you that it's our job. However, we don’t just want you to take our word for it we follow a very low-pressure sales approach here. We like to give you the space to choose the right machine for you, confident in the quality of our machines to help you make the right decision.

One of the most important elements of any purchasing decision is researching the market and discovering the information that’s important to you.

We will always encourage you to complete your own research in all of your available options when looking to invest in a new incinerator or cremator. We do this for two reasons the first is because we want to make sure that you understand what you are getting when you choose Addfield over anyone else. The second is that we want you to be satisfied that you can be happy in the knowledge that you have chosen the right machine for the job.

If you carry out a search for similar companies to Addfield, you will quickly find several manufacturers claiming many things for their machines. However, you will also notice one key difference that sets our machines apart and that is the quality of construction.

Not all machines are built equally as you will quickly learn, they are different shapes, sizes, and colours but one of the biggest differences that you will find often lies beneath the external shell and in fact makes up the heart of any machine so, let us just cover what we believe could be the biggest difference for you to consider and compare the refractory.

The refractory chamber is one of the most important elements of any machine. It is where you load and burn your waste. An effective and insulated refractory can save you thousands of pounds each year in fuel alone.

We are one of the only manufacturers of incinerators and pet cremators to use brick-based multi-layered refractories. In fact, this is what you will find in over 99% of the machines we manufacture. And this is one of the main reasons you can often find our machines in operation for over 20 years whilst competitor products can need replacing much, much sooner.

You will find refractories constructed in one of two ways, Brick or Concrete.

We choose brick, why? Simple, because it’s the best way to do it.

You will find that most of our competitors choose a concrete refractory and the main reason is generally that, it is easier and cheaper to build.

A brick refractory is immensely labour intensive and sadly as traditional industries such as the potteries and steel production have decreased. Colleges have stopped teaching the core skills to enable people to produce these.

So, at Addfield we have addressed this and we train apprentices ourselves. It is very much a specialist skill and our refractory masons are some of the best in the country.

Ask yourself this question what is easier, pouring concrete into a mold or installing three separate layers of refractory?

We occasionally provide concrete refractories. However, these are only on our smallest mobile machines to fit a very specific requirement. All machines that are built to handle loads of 150kg and greater will always be bricked.

We only use concrete on our smallest machines.

What are the long-term benefits of Brick over Concrete?

Well for one it is vastly longer-lasting. Every refractory will go through years of daily usage. This means that every day there will be expansion and retraction of the lining as it heats up and cools down.

The concrete refractory will be held in place with dozens of small steel anchors spaced throughout the case holding the refractory in place with the steel shell. Over time this expansion and retraction will cause cracks, some hairline, and some larger. These cracks will provide access for the energy and heat to escape from the chamber, into the anchor and then into the steel body of the machine. These make the machine increasingly hot during operation. This is why you will often find ‘Danger Hot’ on a concrete refractory machine but not on ours.

Another risk caused by constant expansion and retraction of the refractory is the effect on the integrity of the steel anchors themselves. The steel and refractory lining both expand at different rates. When a crack appears in the concrete (which it will) the heat energy will be conducted through the steel anchor to your steel. If you think this machine will achieve temperatures in excess of 900°C, is conducting energy to the outside steel, do you think this is good for the longevity of the machine?

So why do we use brick?

The bricks we use are great for handling thermal shock, they allow expansion between the joints, are incredibly easy to maintain, for example, if a brick does ever fail you can replace a brick with minimal downtime and often be back up and running on the same day. If concrete fails you need to cut out the anchors, install shuttering and mix concrete and allow the customer to use their fuel for 12 hours to dry out the machine, then if it cracks and breaks again, it’s your fault, as you never dried the concrete properly. We have seen this happen with concrete refractories so many times.

The difference between brick and concrete is clear.

Beyond the technical aspects, what does this really mean to you?

· You won’t be having to reinvest another £40+K in 4 years' time.

· You’ll be using around 40 litres less fuel for every incineration/cremation cycle. Completing just three of these a week, that’s 6240 litres that could be a saving of around £3,120.00 every year.

At Addfield we aim to be able to answer all of the key questions that you may have and also make you aware of a number of key questions you need to be considering when selecting your machine.

Although our Refractories are the best in the industry they are not the only element that you will find makes our construction superior. Consider the following:

Steel thickness – Addfield uses 8-10mm, where most other manufacturers choose 4-5mm.

What do you think that would mean to you in terms of longevity?

Refractory Thickness – Addfield: 180-220mm

Consider what your new machine will weigh. A triple-layered refractory and thick steel shell is heavy and delivers a more robust solution. If you are comparing an Addfield machine to a similar-sized machine yet ours is twice as heavy, that’s something you really should ask why about.

Caution Hot Signs – Not required on an Addfield

Does the machine require a ‘Caution Hot’ sign? Ours don’t, if the machines are radiating a lot of heat, you are going to have to replace that by having the burners on for longer. What is the impact for fuel economy?

How durable is the paint system on a machine with hot surfaces, vs a paint system designed for modern vehicles?

More importantly, what are the health and safety implications?

Numbers Of Refractory Layers – Three layers are standard on Addfield machines

If you have 800°C heat in the chamber, what happens if a hot face insulation problem occurs and that heat gets behind that insulation layer?

800°C on directly painted steel (or a 20mm insulation board) vs heat on another two layers of insulation. If you use thin steel for that casing what kind of shape is it going to be in?

Steel Anchors – Not required on Addfield Brick refractories

This is an area you won’t know about. So the above illustration is a good example. Anchors hold concrete in place.

When concrete heats and steel heats up together. Which one is going to get hot first? When materials heat up they expand. If the steel is heating up quicker this will create a hole inside loosening its grip. What happens to steel when you constantly heat it and cool it? It becomes brittle and when brittle it cannot hold the concrete in place. What happens when it lets go?

Are you going to choose a costly repair or just throw it away and choose a brick refractory?

Hot Hearth Primary Chambers – Available on our Medical and Pet Cremation ranges

All human crematoriums use a hot hearth system. What do you think are the implications for speed, your throughput and ultimately earning potential of the business from using this approach?

Datalogging – Included as standard on Addfield Incinerators

Every two hours you are going to have to record burn temperatures in the secondary chamber as part of the permit for 10% of burners. (At least for APHA in the UK you do)

Our machines do it automatically other options are going to cause you a lot more labour.

When it comes to price what we quote is the price of our machines, its the price you will pay. Other manufacturers may be able to offer you large discounts that bring their final price lower, after artificially inflating their price. We build our machines by hand ourselves, investing in our workforce, and we select only the best quality materials which, gives you a fantastic finished machine at a fair price. If you ask for a large discount and get one what does that actually say about the machine you are investing in for potentially more than 20 years of usage.

For over 35 years now we have stood by our motto of being ‘Simply Built Better’, if you want to learn more about how we build our machines you are welcome to join the hundreds of visitors that have traveled from the furthest corners of the world and visit our factory to see first-hand why we are number one. If you have any questions do not hesitate to ask us we are here to help.

For more information visit us at www.addfield.com to discover our full range of solutions.

Digital approach to combat the Coronavirus spread

Over that past few months, the internet has truly revolutionised the way we work worldwide. Remote meetings have become the new normal and people are engaging with technology and the business opportunities available like never before. At Addfield the sudden lockdown of borders did not mean that we were going to be unable to keep building essential medical waste incinerators, it just gave us the chance to further innovate, this time in the digital domain.

During the past year alone we have supplied dozens of machines to be installed in countries across all continents. In most instances, the final stage of the project is when an engineer flies out from the UK to complete the installation and deliver training to the new users. As the airports closed, the docks stayed open and we continued to ship essential medical incinerators worldwide to help combat the crisis caused by the Coronavirus. As the machines began to arrive so did the need to commission them. But how without a trained engineer available? This became a problem desperate to be solved.

The solution was simple and resulted in http://www.addfieldinternational.com an online learning platform launching with a detailed program for commissioning and operating the MP range of medical incinerators.

“When the travel restrictions first took hold, we knew we had to act fast. As the demand for medical incinerators grew we had to ask ourselves how can we best support our customers anytime and anywhere, without being affected by travel restrictions?

Several of our team had completed various online courses in the past as part of their personal development and proposed we make our own. Putting together a team from across the company each with their own expertise, in just a couple of weeks we were able to launch it just in time for the arrival of several of our machines in Cambodia.” Ian Gilbert, Marketing Manager.

In recent years ‘Online training courses’ have taken the world by storm. Giving the ability for anyone to learn from the experts in virtually any subject. And although it is often best to have a qualified and experienced engineer on hand when installing an incinerator. Through the power of the internet, customers are able to put their new equipment straight to work helping to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus through safe disposal of contaminated waste.

Launching our online platform this June, just in time to support the installation and commissioning of several medical incinerators being setup in Cambodia for a leading international aid agency. The first course combines more than 23 video lessons combined with essential documents and guides covering everything from positioning the machine and connecting it all together through to the first operation and basic maintenance essentials.

To be successful in business it’s essential to view new challenges, as opportunities to innovate and the Coronavirus has been no different. Throughout the past three months, Addfield has implemented dozens of fresh approaches to working locally and internationally to ensure that essential medical equipment has been able to continue to ship worldwide. As orders for essential medical machines continue to arrive this fresh approach to commissioning has already proven a vital resource.

Kuwaits largest recycler Chooses Addfield

Yet another exporting success story for us at Addfield we gear up for one of our largest projects in recent years.

As the final stages of the project are formalised we are beginning to gather our team in preparation for the build of an impressive multi-million-pound clinical waste-to-energy facility for their customer in Kuwait. Construction of this mammoth project will begin in February 2020 at our headquarters in the heart of in Staffordshire before being completed on-site in Kuwait later in the year.

The largest Waste Recycling operator in Kuwait is expanding its operation with the addition of a brand new specifically designed facility developed exclusively for the safe destruction of clinical waste. Designed to process up to 1000kg of material per hour through a fully automated stepped hearth incinerator.

The customer selected Addfield after tirelessly reviewing other manufacturers from England, France, Germany, and the USA before choosing to work with us due to our established reputation in this arena for delivering consistent high-quality solutions for many large incineration facilities internationally.

Another clear investment in the recognition of the quality and reliability of British Manufacturing, as celebrated by the Department for International Trade ‘Exporting is Great’ initiative.

Having an expected operational life in excess of 20 years Addfield will ensure that the entire system is capable of being operated and maintained in-country. Delivering a fully comprehensive program of operation and maintenance training for local engineers during the final installation and commissioning stage.

“This is another fantastic project for us to work on following the success we have seen with installations of this scale in the UK and Europe landing another project, which will be starting so soon is recognition not just of the quality of work that we deliver at Addfield. It is also confidence in the recognition that made in Great Britain still carriers a rightfully recognised esteem around the world. We are really proud to be starting the new year in such a great position. This just the first of many projects we are looking at in this region and we are very proud of the quality of work of our team” James Grant Business Development Director

“Globally clinical waste is becoming recognised for the potential impact that it can cause the environment. We are incredibly proud to be such a significant part in the safe disposal of such waste in an environmentally secure and sustainable manner.” James Grant Business Development Director.

In recent Years Addfield has become increasingly recognised for its ability to deliver on a wide-reaching range of Turnkey Solutions for dealing with the growing global problem of clinical waste. Providing solutions throughout the UK and internationally for some of the world’s most prestigious customers. Making dramatic inroads into new markets and continuing to grow in existing ones.

All Addfield plants are designed to comply with the strictest environmental regulations and comply with the most stringent of EU emission legislations. Implementing a number of advanced filtration methods and operation principles. We aim to deliver the cleanest and greenest solution to disposing of such hazardous waste.

Addfield has been leading the industry for more than 35 years in the design and construction of the most reliable and efficient machines on the market. Proudly flying the flag of Great Britain as a genuine badge of quality to let their customer know that they are simply buying the best.

The future of Waste to Energy – Complete talk by James Grant – Addfield Environmental.

The future of Waste to Energy – Complete talk by James Grant – Addfield Environmental.

In September 2019 during the first day of the Recycling and Waste Management Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham. Our Business Development Director James Grant delivered an information-packed presentation to a packed lecture theatre about the future of Waste to Energy and the ways in which Addfield is supporting the development for our customers.

The following is an optimised transcript of the presentation giving you the highlights of the talk.

If you have any questions on how Addfield can help you at the end of this contact us straight away via sales@addfield.com.

The Future of Waste Treatment

At Addfield we have become a recognised and respected provider of thermal waste treatment solutions able to provide a reaching range of solutions from individual small-scale machines through to full high capacity facilities.

I would like to describe to you how these plants can help you with your waste issues. Hopefully, you will be able to identify with some of the problems identified here.

We have been manufacturing incinerators for over 35 years and currently export our equipment to over 100 different countries around the world.

To begin with an introduction to the points that we are going to discuss.

Starting with a brief overview of the current risks to waste management and how we can address those.

Followed by a review of our small-scale waste to energy plants and the permits surrounding them, before discussing planning. Finally, we will look at your ‘Return on Investment’ in these plants and the main factors as to why you would want to look at something like this.

Risks To Waste Management

Starting off, risks to waste management and why you may want to look into something like this. Firstly something that maybe everyone can identify with and that is ever-increasing landfill costs. In recent years they have just increased and increased, in gate fees as well as transport costs.

There is a potential lack of landfill capacity in the UK, resulting in a lot of recent news reports talking about landfill problems especially with regards to exporting waste abroad. And potential tariffs on waste as well which we will go into more detail later. Where a lot of countries around the world are placing import taxes and again risks from Brexit exporting waste to EU countries.

Another risk to waste especially plastics is the reclassification of certain waste types so there is a potential for certain plastics such as car plastics are to be reclassified as hazardous. This would have an impact on how they are disposed of and also affect the cost associated with that disposal as well. Finally, there is a rejection of waste from traditional waste importing countries.

Waste Makes Headlines

There have been several news reports on waste from all over the world, and how government policy impacts waste disposal costs and how that might challenge future waste disposal routes.

Here are a couple of examples – there are lots of these that keep cropping up on the news I am sure you have seen some.

Here we have ‘Malaysia sends back 3000 tonnes of plastic back to the country of origin.’ This is just highlighting the issues of where waste goes in the future and the options for waste disposal are narrowing.

Equally just last year (2018) ‘China decides to ban 24 grades of rubbish,’ as part of their ‘National Sword,’ campaign. The main key point to take away from this is that China is probably the world’s biggest waste importer, so waste isn’t just an issue for the UK it is a global issue for how people treat their waste in the future.

Talking about tariffs here is an example of how potentially RDF is going to be taxed in January 2020 and this seems to be a running theme with taxation on waste in the future.

And then government policy, a little bit closer to home with landfill tax being a corner piece of Scotland’s ‘Zero Waste’ plan, where government pressure is on looking for where waste will go in the future.

I am going to identify certain areas and outlets for those as well. Hopefully, you can look at those and see where you may have problems with your waste.

Small Scale Waste to Energy Plants.

The future as we see it is small scale waste to energy plants.

What is small scale?

Well, small scale is for us a machine that processes less than three tones per hour and that comes down to permitting which we talk about later on.

Just to identify waste types that will be suitable for this kind of plant. Effectively a waste to energy plant can burn any type of waste. However, there are certain waste streams that are derived from oil such as plastics which will be a lot more cost effective to run through a combustion plant so if you have something of a higher energy value it uses less auxiliary fuel to run it. Equally, if you have something of a low energy value or a high moisture content you will use more fuel to run the plant and fuel is probably the biggest outgoing when running this kind of equipment.

You may recognise a few of these waste types:

  • · Car plastics
  • · Mixed polymers
  • · WEEE waste,
  • · MRF reject

Again all plastic derived really, and costs for disposal will come back to the ROI part.

The higher the energy value the quicker the return on investment.

What to expect from a small-scale waste to energy plant. We will discuss the most common layouts that we produce. However, every site is different and every waste type is different. So we build them to a customer requirement but these main points will ring true for most sites.

To access the full 20+ minute presentation and learn more about the opportunities available from a Waste to Energy Plant or High Capacity waste incineration contact James Grant on email at sales@addfield.com or telephone +44 01543 571280

Are you ready for Incoterms 2020?

Incoterms are about to change, are you ready?

Let’s forget about Brexit for a minute and focus on an upcoming change that is going to affect every exporter regardless of the region you sell to. Incoterms are about to change and you need to know what this means and how this affects you to stay protected.

In case you were not fully away Incoterms are essential for all international trade, providing a globally accepted term for international freight delivery. The Incoterms covers the delivery point for the goods sold along with establishing exactly the responsibilities, risks and costs that are associated with both the seller and the buyer. These terms have been in circulation since they were initially created in 1936 and have recently been updated every ten years with the next update due in January 2020.

The first thing to be aware of is, is when you need to change your Incoterms.

You should use the new terms from the 1st of January 2020 and as they are already published you should have plenty of time to become acquainted with the new codes that you will use to replace your existing one.

Can you use the new codes before January 2020?

You can start using the term if the contract specifically refers to the new terms over the current ones. In the same respect, you do not have to switch over straight away to the new terms. If you choose to work with the 2010 set of Incoterms you can however this needs to be clearly stated and defined in the contracts. It is expected though that within 18 months all companies will be fully compliant with the 2020 terms.

Now, what do you need to do about Incoterms 2020?

First off find out what terms your business currently uses and how they are going to change. It is unlikely that you currently use every term so don’t be overwhelmed by changes that will not affect you.

This is actually a great opportunity for you to audit your current terms and make sure that you are actually using the most appropriate ones currently, you may be surprised.

You can find the full set of 2010 Incoterms here https://iccwbo.org/resources-for-business/incoterms-rules/incoterms-rules-2010/

When you are satisfied with the existing terms that you are using check what changes (if any) have been made and how these affect you. Once again you may want to review the terms you use to ensure appropriate compliance.

You can find the full set of 2020 Incoterms here https://iccwbo.org/resources-for-business/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/

Once you know the new codes that you are going to be using be proactive and begin preparing your contract documents for the new year to include the new Incoterms also notify your customers of the changes and the impact this may have on them and if they are expected to carry out any additional duties.

Although there are a number of changes across the full Incoterms 2020 guidance there are a number of noticeable changes.

These include:

CIP and CIF Insurance changes

The term CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid to) means that the seller will deliver the goods to the carrier and also covers the insurance for the rest of the journey to the final destination. The term CIF (Carriage Insurance and Freight) is similar except that it only applies to maritime transport, meaning delivery onto a ship with the destination being a port.

The 2010 incoterms require the provision of insurance for the buyer known as Clause C. This provides a basic level of insurance, which may be suitable for bulk commodity items but not correct for manufactured goods.

In the newest version CIF keeps the same Clause C insurance but now also includes the requirement of Clause A. The reason for this is that CIF has been found to more commonly contain bulk commodity trades while CIP is more common for manufactured goods.

FOB, FCA, and Bills of lading

FOB is generally used for container shipments. In this instance, the seller takes on a high level of risk. The seller maintains liability for the container and its contents until it is securely loaded onto the ship. However, once the container enters the port it leaves the control of the seller which means that there is a level of risk that they cannot control and will be liable for such as if it is damaged. As well as potential unexpected storage and loading fees.

We would generally request the term FCA which often requires the payment to be made securely with a letter of credit. For the credit to be issued a Bill of Laden is generally required. When using FOB the seller is most often issued with a bill of loading directly however this is more difficult when using FCA.

Going forward the 2020 incoterms will allow both parties to agree for the buyer to issue an onboard bill of lading directly to the seller removing risks and speeding up the overall process.

DPU is replacing DAT

DAT (Delivered at Terminal) means that once goods have been unloaded at the terminal they are considered delivered as far as the seller is liable. The new term DPU allows the delivery to be concluded at site, such as a farm or business.

Increased security

There has been a global increase in security requirements including more mandatory screening of containers. The changes will incur greater costs and the risks of delay. Previous versions of Incoterms were not specific on who was responsible for these costs however in 202 there is much more formal guidance on the management of this aspect.

Ex Works is moving to FCA

The term Ex Works is being removed and being replaced in most instances by FCA (Free Carrier). Under Ex Works it had previously been assumed that the delivery would be completed by a third party carrier. This has often been an issue with some of our customers who have been able to collect directly from us. In the new 2020 incoterms, they have added the ability to more formally state that the buyer or seller will ‘arrange at its own cost for the carriage of goods from the named place of delivery’ under FCA.

These are only a small number of changes to the recently published Incoterms, to read more visit:

https://iccwbo.org/resources-for-business/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/

https://www.incotermsexplained.com/

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This information is meant purely as an informal guide. We would highly recommend if you are affected by the changes in INCOTERMS® that you confirm the impact with your insurance providers and logistics provider.

A unique insight into waste management at remote locations.

G250 High capacity waste incinerator installed on the Ascension Islands

We have just discovered a fantastic article online detailing the ongoing issues with dealing with waste produced on remote islands.

As we have been sharing the ongoing development of our G250 high capacity incineration plant for the Ascension Islands which is now installed and operational. This article details the issues on St Helena and the neighbouring, yet still many miles away Ascension Island.

Written from the personal viewpoint of a resident of St Helena this provides a profound insight into what living in a remote location is actually like for disposing of waste.

“For years, Ascension household waste has been collected, taken to their waste site, tipped out and then (with the help of a box of fire lighters) burnt in an open heap. The residue of the burnt waste (predominantly steel and aluminium cans, and glass bottles) is then landfilled. The open burning removes most of the paper, cardboard, food waste and plastics, which equates to c.90% of the total waste volume and prevents any subsequent build-up of methane gas as the organic material decomposes. Open burning is far from ideal – it’s unsightly, inefficient (as all the combustible material is not burnt) and extremely ‘dirty’, with clouds of black smoke containing noxious gases from the large amount of plastics. You can see the black stain across the landscape on Google Earth.” Leigh Morris

This really brings home the reasoning behind installing a solution such as the G250 which will now provide a genuinely safe and clean way of disposing of waste that cannot be recycled.

The article also highlights a number of key recycling strategies that could be implemented on the islands in the future.

“Aluminium drink cans are worth c.£1000/tonne (a beer can weighs 20g, so is worth 2p when baled. 50,000 cans in a tonne – Mike and I worked this out one evening in his kitchen in-between games of darts!) and you can apparently load 17 tonnes into a shipping container. So, if it costs £5k to get the container to the UK, that gives c.£12K profit on the shipment, which would more than cover the collection and crushing. It might take some time to fill up a container with c.850,000 crushed cans, but it appears to be worth doing and, importantly, it keeps them from being land-filled.” Leigh Morris

The full article can be found by clicking here and is well worth the read for a unique perspective on a global problem.

It’s fantastic to learn the real impact that our machines can make for the environment in a way that many people may not generally be aware of. We have a number of additional high capacity installations in production, including one project specifically for treating 2 tons of plastic waste an hour.

To learn more about our High Capacity range click here.

How to ship an incinerator internationally.

We are proud to have customers stretching across every continent and covering more than 95 counties. One of our biggest barriers is often not finding the customers but finding the best solution to transport their machine to them safely.

Fortunately there is an internationally recognised set of guidelines know as Incoterms (International Commercial TERMs) that helps us to manage the process. The current version was established in 2010 by the International Chamber of Commerce.

This guides how we manage almost all of our international shipments. If you are looking at importing one of our incinerators these are the options that you have available.

Incoterms are broken down into two core groups:

Group 1: Incoterms which apply to any mode of transport are:

  • EXW – Ex Works
  • FCA – Free Carrier
  • CPT – Carriage Paid To
  • CIP – Carriage and Insurance Paid To
  • DAT – Delivered at Terminal
  • DAP – Delivered at Place
  • DDP – Delivered Duty Paid

Group 2: Incoterms which apply to sea and inland waterway transport only:

  • FAS – Free Alongside Ship
  • FOB – Free of Board
  • CFR – Cost and Freight
  • CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight

At first glance this list can look a little daunting however in our day to day dealings there are only a few that we use on a regular basis.

CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight – Typically this is how we ship the majority of our international machines. With CIF we have the machine delivered to the nearest port, for predominantly coastal countries this would be a major containership sea port. For landlocked countries these are typically inland freight ports. Collection from port is then arranged by our customer to take the incinerator to their site.

DAP – Delivered at Place – This is when we manage the entire journey starting with the collection from our factory in Staffordshire all the way through to delivery on site, managing every channel through the process including customs.

EXW – Ex Works – Although rare we do have occasions where the customer chooses to collect the machine and manage the entire process themselves.

Standard delivery is one thing but when you consider our average machine weighs at least several tons how do we ensure that the delivery takes place smoothly?

Let’s be honest Air freight is completely out of the question, so we rely on Sea and Road to move our machines.

How to send an incinerator by Sea Freight.

95% of our shipments made through CIF are classed as ‘Full Container Load’ FCL.

Loaded in our factory in either 20ft or 40ft containers by fork lift truck.

Loading a PET200 Pet Cremator into a container by Fork Lift Truck

For larger machines which are 10 tons and upwards, in this case they can not be loaded into a standard container and so a 40ft open top container is selected. These are typically loaded with a crane:

Loading a multi chambered pet cremator onto a flat bed truck by a crane.

Once loaded our team of engineers secures the equipment before carrying out a number of final quality checks and ensure that the packing lists is cross referenced.

The container is then delivered to port by the freight forwarder ready for shipping. Once at sea the journey can then take between 20-50+ days depending on location.

A week after we have confirmation that the boat has set off the deeds of the goods is received and then forwarded on to the customers address. This document is known as the Bill of Laden (BOL).

The BOL proves the ownership of the goods in the container to allow our customer to collect them from the port.

When the sea freight arrives at the nominated port it is ready for customs clearance followed by inland freight by lorry to its final destination.

As this has been delivered following CIF incoterms, from this point on the goods and any local duty/tax where applicable are the customers responsibility. We recommend our customers appoint a freight forwarder to undertake this activity.

The customer tariff code also known as a harmonised tariff code (HS code) is HS 8417 100 000, this number explains the type of product contained and is used to apply duty to the goods where applicable.

Once delivered to site the customer has a 2-3 hour window to unload the container as that still belongs to the shipping company unless this has been purchased separately which is the case with containerised machines.

We recommend that to ensure safe unloading that appropriate lifting equipment in onsite including ensuring that fork lifts have suitable ‘Long arms’ to reach the incinerator for removal and positioning.

How to send a pet cremator by Road Freight.

The other main route for international delivery is Road freight typically DAP (Delivered At Place), where we manage the entire process from door to door.

90% of our road freight is large equipment, we choose to send this as a dedicated load or as non-transhipments. Whilst this costs us more, it greatly minimises the chance of damage as it doesn’t allow freight forwarders to up lift and move equipment at freight hubs should they wish to equip your lorry with other deliveries.

Equipment is collected on a curtain slider truck or for large loads a flatback trailer

As it is not going by boat delivery times are a lot shorter ranging from 1-10 days. We are able to use DAP for deliveries in the UK and across Mainland Europe.

Unloading of a PET200 from a lorry by Fork Lift Truck in Norway.

Once the incinerator arrives on site it can be removed by a forklift truck

Unloading an A50IC machine by crane ready to be positioned on skates for positioning.

For larger machines we require removal with a crane.

Once offloaded the incinerator is moved into position onsite with loading equipment inline with how we are able to move the incinerator into the building. Forklift trucks and skates can move through doorways and using cranes when we need to go in through the roof.

As with unloading a container we recommend that to ensure safe unloading that appropriate lifting equipment in onsite including ensuring that fork lifts have suitable ‘Long arms’ to reach the incinerator for removal and positioning.

For more information on our international deliveries contact our sales via sales@addfield.com.

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Tackling medical waste in chile.

Having customers in more than 95 countries it can be challenging to ensure that we can provide a full service to our customers. This is where our expert team of distributors, partners and international engineers step in. Trained by our engineers in the complete installation, commissioning and maintenance of our machines to enable us to confidently support you no matter where you are. Having an on site training facility is great however sometimes we need to go our and deliver training directly. This was the case this September when one of our engineers headed out on a 30-hour journey to warmer climates, installing another of our machines in Latin America. To be precise in Iquique in Chile.

The GM350 Medical Waste incinerator has been installed in a new waste treatment plant that will be managing the medical waste for Hospitals and Clinics in the region. The first of many installations planned by our customer Geconor to help manage the clinical waste in the region.

Following the installation and training we were able to ask General Manager Jorge Rivera Stuardo a few questions about his plans.

What do you see as the future for waste incineration in South America?

"For us our immediate goal is to become one of the main providers of hazardous waste disposal in the North. We chose to work with Addfield as they are such an established company that has specific solutions not only for medical waste but also for pet cremation and general municipal waste, all of which are areas we are planning to expand into.

We have big plans to continue to grow, expanding into the Central and Southern regions as well, through installing more incineration plants. We are also planning on developing our waste to energy capabilities with Addfield as we know that there machines are already able to use the heat to generate clean energy, which we call circular energy. We like the way that Addfield are simply built better and this makes a great strategic alliance for us at Geconor as the right way to eliminate waste while helping our environment."

What helped you decide to start Geconor?

"To begin with the company was involved in just transporting hazardous waste. Then we realised that there was a different way to deal with what we were handling. After this we decided to really research the idea and developed it to where we are now creating a company that also receives and treats waste. We met with investors and began our long journey to form what is now called Ecological Waste Management North "Geconor" where we are aiming to give a real, concrete solution to the problem that is so widespread here in the northern parts of our country."

Why did they choose to work with Addfield?

"We wanted to work with a company that we could trust and as Addfield comply with all of the rules of the EU we believe that this surpasses our national legislation and that gives us the security that they would deliver machines that would be able to operate reliably under the legal framework governing this activity. After much research and many discussions we decided that we had found the right supplier and wanted to become representatives of Addfield here in Chile, they are a prestigious company and there slogan says it all, 'Simply Built Better'." Jorge Rivera Stuardo, General Manager, Geconor.

We are proud to have Geconor as our latest distributor representing our Medical Incineration and Pet Cremation ranges throughout Chile.

For more information:

View our full pet cremation range here.

View our full medical incineration range here.

View our energy recovery range here.

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