Sustainable Aggregates, one of the companies pioneering the use of Structural Material for Reinstatement (SMR), is using a pair of newly acquired Extec machines to meet growing production demands at its new 1.2 hectare recycling facility at Copthorne in Sussex, close to Gatwick Airport. Having proved the viability of the product at its original site in Avonmouth, the new site and the acquisition of the two new Extec units signals a major expansion of Sustainable Aggregates' operations.

Chalk and Cheese
"At Avonmouth we proved that the SMR product could be produced and that there was a market for it," says managing director Clive Holloway. "Up until then, we had acted as a supplier to 14 SMR dealerships before taking the plunge in February and producing the finished product ourselves."

Holloway reports that the take up of SMR is based almost entirely upon the quality and integrity of the finished product. "Comparing ordinary Type 1 and SMR is like comparing chalk and cheese," Holloway continues. "Our customers have been astounded at the strength of the product. To ensure that we maintain the quality of the finished product, we must process the waste to the highest possible specifications. For that, we have to have the right equipment."

At the heart of the Copthorne operation is the Extec C-10+ mobile crusher and E-7 screen. Fed by a Komatsu 210LC hydraulic excavator, the C10+ easily copes with the 10-14 daily loads of utility waste, reducing it to the required 50-60 mm grade. The unit's grizzly bars remove the majority of the fines while oversized material is removed through a side conveyor for recrushing.

A proportion of the product from the crusher is stockpiled, as there is a ready market for conventional Type 1 as well as SMR. However the majority is fed into the E-7 screen by a JCB JS200JC excavator where the fines are removed and the crushed material sorted into products varying between 60 to 10 mm. The screened material is then loaded into an Achiever mixer and trommel unit, by a Volvo EC240 excavator, where the binding agent is added to produce the SMR product.