Farm and General Services Weblog

One of Europe’s most spectacular shopping destinations has appointed Countrystyle, Kent’s leading expert in waste management and recycling, to provide the complete solution to its all its waste disposal needs.

Ashford Designer Outlet, operated by McArthur Glen, was designed by architect Lord Richard Rogers and opened in March 2000.  Featuring the world’s largest tented roof structure, the centre houses over 70 high street and designer brands and with a growing number of shoppers attracted by designer labels at discount prices, the outlet now attracts 2.8 million visitors each year – and that’s a lot of waste to be dealt with!

The Ashford Designer Outlet required a company with impeccable credentials and an impressive track record in the application and use of ‘green’ technology, that could effectively deal with the centre’s waste. Countrystyle, a company at the forefront of ‘resource recovery’, fitted the outlet’s stringent criteria.

Ashford Designer Outlet produces a wide range of waste products and Countrystyle is able to offer the recycling of both inert and organic waste material effectively and efficiently, transforming the centre’s waste into all kinds of reusable, sustainable end products.

All of the centre’s cardboard and waste paper is collected and transported to a mill for recycling. Its plastics are ground down and recycled into a host of reusable products, while the remaining general waste is taken away, sorted and further recycled.
The contract, which began on July 1st 2008, is on-going and reinforces Countrystyle’s position as Kent’s leading independent waste management and recycling company.

Countrystyle is delighted to have been chosen to service the waste disposal and recycling requirements of McArthur Glen.  The awarding of the contract follows several meetings between Ian Cowell, Facilities Manager from McArthur Glen and Richard Lloyd, Operations Manager from Countrystyle, where all manner of different options were discussed.

“The awarding of the contract to Countrystyle is another example of our ability to provide total recycling solutions to the retail sector,” commented Richard Lloyd. “With McArthur Glen so close to our head office and our expertise with other retail outlets in the county, we feel we can offer them an individual service without compromise” 

Countrystyle is able to offer a full range of waste management and recycling solutions to businesses.  In addition to general waste, organic commercial waste can be converted via Countrystyle’s own state of the art composting plant into reusable, sustainable, peat-free compost products – a truly viable alternative to land fill.

Acting as consultants and advisors in all aspects of waste and facilities management and environmental issues, Countrystyle’s driving ambition is to divert as much of the county’s waste as possible from landfill sites and to recycle it into either energy or new products / materials. This will enable them, in partnership with their clients, to create sustainable waste solutions that will benefit not only the local environment, but ultimately, the planet.

For further information, please contact  the Countrystyle Marketing Department on:
Telephone:     01233 821200
Contact:    Caroline Mills

The UK generates an estimated eight to nine million tonnes of post-consumer waste wood each year.* That’s an awful lot to go to landfill, which is why companies like Kent based Countrystyle has taken action to recycle waste wood and turn it back into products.

Encouraged to look at wood recycling by clients such as Kent County Council, Countrystyle has invested almost half a million pounds in a facility at its Ridham site. This has enabled clients such as Kent County Council the ability of diverting the bulk of its wood waste away from landfill.

Once processed the wood chip is then send to a panel board mill for manufacture in to chip board, panel board and medium density fibreboard MDF.

“It’s a sustainable, and therefore, valuable business to us and we are delighted to be helping remove bulky material from landfill,” said Niall Cormac-Wallshe, General Manager at the site. “Since the scheme started, we have recycled many thousands of tonnes of wood.”

The wood, which comes from local amenity sites, transfer stations and other commercial operators, is put through a strictly regulated process. Stringent inspection sorts the good wood from the contaminated, before it gets shredded and sent to the end user. Any metal fixings are recovered and wood contaminated with plastic or card that cannot be used is returned to the supplier. Once the woodchip has gone through the panel board mills it is then used back in the construction industry to make flooring, furniture and kitchen units for example.

Shredding the wood reduces its bulk dramatically and in turn the amount of transport required, because more of the product will fit into each load. Countrystyle also operate as many back loads as possible to reduce haulage and save energy.

Countrystyle offer a wealth of waste management and recycling services. This includes a new £4 million state of the art, In Vessel Composting System (IVCS), the first of its kind in Kent, which is now in operation at the company’s Ridham site.

Proud to play an integral part in the nation’s drive to reduce waste, Countrystyle is a leader in the application and use of green technologies and is committed to providing a lasting solution to the ongoing problems of handling waste.  The company’s team act as friendly consultants and advisers in all aspects of waste and facilities management and environmental issues.

* Source: Wood Recyclers Association

For further information, please contact the Countrystyle Marketing Department on:

Telephone:     01233 821200
Contact:    Caroline Mills

“The Countrystyle fleet is expanding into a hugely diverse and efficient operation.” That is the comment from Operations Manager, Richard Lloyd on its latest addition, a new Volvo FLH 240 skip loader – the 50th vehicle in its impressive portfolio.

This is the first new Volvo to join the fleet. Equipped with Hyva brand skip lifting gear and a Euro 4 engine, ensuring compliance with emissions regulations, it’s just the ticket for transporting Countrystyle’s exclusive range of skips.

Operating from its Strood depot, the Volvo will be used on the roads in and around Maidstone and the Medway towns in Kent, covering an annual mileage of approximately 80,000kms. For maximum driver comfort, the vehicle has been ordered with extras such as air conditioning, CD player and sun visor.

Richard Lloyd continued: “With a wide range of vehicle types, Countrystyle can offer its customers a huge variety of services and can answer the call for a whole host of waste disposal and recycling haulage needs.”

“The acquisition of the new Volvo skip loader demonstrates Countrystyle’s continued commitment to its fleet expansion and replacement programme. Following the offer of an attractive deal and perseverance by Paul Cogger of M C Truck and Bus, the decision was reached to go down the Volvo route. Both the vehicle and dealership’s performance will be monitored stringently, with a view to further Volvo product purchases.”

Countrystyle’s extensive fleet of leading brand vehicles ranges from dust carts, Ro Ro, skip, tipper and grab lorries to a variety of articulated transport. Used for a combination of waste management and recycling services throughout the region, with clients including both the commercial and public sectors, Countrystyle guarantees a friendly and professional service.

For further information, please contact the Countrystyle Marketing Department on:

Telephone:     01233 821200
Contact:    Caroline Mills

A new addition to the burgeoning fleet of Kent’s leading waste management, recycling and composting company, Countrystyle, has provided added flexibility to the services it offers to clients. The high specification DAF tractor unit and walking floor trailer will expand capacity in the transportation of waste and organic materials between customer locations and recycling facilities.

Richard Lloyd, Operations Manager at Countrystyle explains further: “The purchase of this latest tractor unit and walking floor trailer combination enhances the Countrystyle articulated fleet and sees Countrystyle make a serious move into the bulk waste and recycling haulage sector in Kent. The choice of DAF was made due to success with the marque elsewhere within the Countrystyle fleet and as a result of the inclusion of the three year service and maintenance deal offered by the local DAF distributor, Channel Commercials. The vehicle will be utilised on bulk waste and recycling haulage activities in and around Kent and will complement the existing fleet of vehicles.”

A top of the range transportation unit, the DAF XF 105-460 has many new features.
The first DAF tractor unit Countrystyle has purchased it features  a 13.6 metre Legras walking floor trailer. With a vast 125 cubic yards of space to transport a whole variety of waste and recyclable products the specific design of the trailer makes the difference in its ease of waste transportation, and in providing tailor made solutions to waste management problems.

A 460 BHP engine, which meets Euro 5 emission standards, provides the required pulling power for the enormous capacity of the trailer. The environmental compliance does not detract from driver comfort; the engine gives a smooth ride and the cab has air conditioning, a CD player and a fridge to keep the driver happy.

The new DAF unit will increase the Countystyle articulated fleet to 7 vehicles.  Used on various contracts in the Kent area, which includes the Waste Recycling Group / Kent County Council contract at Pepperhill, Gravesend, it will transport waste and recyclable materials from the Pepperhill facility to the waste to energy plant in Allington. The tractor unit will also be utilised in hauling Countrystyle’s own materials to and from its composting facility at Ridham dock.

A leading company in the application of green technology, Countrystyle has laid down a marker to its aspirations with its recent purchase. Supplying consultancy services and advice to its clients, Countrystyle is proud to have a central role in reducing the county’s dependence on landfill and increasing the level of waste recycled into new products and materials. This commitment to green processes, combined with its close client relationships, will provide immeasurable benefits to the local environment for future generations.

For further information, please contact the Countrystyle Marketing Department on:
Telephone:     01233 821200
Contact:         Caroline Mills

Charlie Chan safely back home with owner Tracey Duggan

A cat went on an action-packed 90-mile journey after becoming trapped in a lorry skip.

Siamese Charlie Chan, who was driven away from his home in Ashford, narrowly avoided being tipped into a waste crusher during his ordeal.

The lorry’s driver eventually found Charlie and took him home - only to be bitten by the stressed-out pet.

• For the full story see the Kentish Express website >>>

Charlie Chan safely back home with owner Tracey Duggan

By Sam Lennon

A cat went on an action-packed 90-mile journey after becoming trapped in a lorry skip.

Siamese Charlie Chan, who was driven away from his home in Ashford, narrowly avoided being tipped into a waste crusher during his adventure.

The lorry’s driver found Charlie and took him home to Old Romney - even though the stressed-out moggy bit him.

Driver Gary Benn, 52, said: “The cat bit my finger to the bone and I had to have tetanus jabs. But I forgive him.”

Two-year-old Charlie’s ordeal began when he had wandered from his home at Conningbrook Villas, Willesborough Road, Ashford, into a neighbouring KCC green waste depot last Friday.

He climbed and slipped down into a giant 14ft high skip and was promptly covered up by waste leaves and branches.

Mr Benn, who works for the Pluckley-based recycling and waste management firm Countrystyle Group, took the skip on his lorry and travelled 30 miles to a company depot at Temple Marsh Estate, Strood.

He had delivered a second skip there and carried on with the one containing Charlie to another company depot at Ridham Dock Road, Iwade, Sittingbourne, another 14 miles away.

There the contents of the skip were tipped into a crusher but Charlie Chan jumped clear.

Mr Benn then picked up the cat and took him home until his owners could be traced.

He explained: “The cat shot out, I took him in my arms and he bit my right little finger.

“But he was very stressed. He had been in that skip for at least four hours.”

The last leg of Charlie’s journey was another 45 miles to Mr Benn’s home in Rhee Wall, Old Romney, comfortably in the lorry cab’s footwell.

The entire trip that day totalled 89 miles.

Mr Benn kept Charlie at home overnight. The owners were traced next day when he was taken to the Barrow Hill Veterinary Centre in New Romney and an identification chip was found in his neck.

Owner Tracey Duggan 44, was called and immediately drove to pick him up.

She said: “Charlie Chan had disappeared for two days before he ended up in the skip and we had been searching for him everywhere. But he was unhurt and is now home. My family and I are so grateful to Mr Benn for all he did.”

Report published 5.00pm Wednesday 17 September 2008

A new £4 million In-Vessel Composting (IVC) facility in Ridham – a first in Kent – has already proven to be an immense success, with over 600 tonnes of organic waste a week being processed even though the facility has only just opened.

Owned and operated by Countrystyle, the South East’s leading waste management company, the facility is capable of processing 35,000 tonnes of domestic and commercial organic waste a year. It is, therefore, extremely encouraging to see the site running at such a high capacity in these early stages, clearly demonstrating a positive outlook for Countrystyle’s determination to bring the South East to the forefront of green issues.

The organic waste material, which includes catering, kitchen, garden, horticultural and industrial organic waste, is collected from different sources around the southeast by Countrystyle’s own extensive fleet and delivered to the facility in Ridham. It is then mixed, shredded and processed into peat free, sustainable compost.

Currently the company produces, sells and delivers approximately 400 tonnes per week of this eco friendly and “green” compost to farmers across the South East. With fertiliser costs rising dramatically recently, this is a tremendous benefit to the farmers – providing a low-cost sustainable solution that is far better for the soil.

The advantages of this system are many as the compost, once spread upon the fields, will break down the soil more efficiently, provide it with nutrients and integrate it with more organic matter. The benefits also include soil conditioning, improved soil structure, mulch, micro-organism growth promotion and weed suppression. The end result is better crops for the farmers and their clients.

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Countrystyle maintains a strict regime of quality control to ensure its compost is of the highest standards. Following rigorous trials and tests, its produce has tested negative for salmonella on all counts, this is a clear signal that Countrystyle is achieving high standards converting organic waste into reusable end products, fit for purpose, peat free and safe to the environment.

The site is another triumphant step in the company’s efforts to divert Kent’s waste away from landfill and ensure that, instead, it is put to good use. This has also been displayed at Maidstone’s premiere shopping centre, Fremlin Walk, where the company has successfully prevented 99.7% of the centre’s waste from going to landfill.

A fully enclosed operation, the site combines an organic waste reception-processing building with six IVC bunkers. Complete with ventilated floors and wireless data logging probes, each bunker is equipped to send a constant stream of data back to the central control computer. The pasteurisation cycle can then be managed at all times to comply with ABPR (Animal By Products Regulations). This ensures conformities such as weed seed destruction and EU composting standards are met.

With Kent’s first state of the art composting site in full swing, Countrystyle is closer than ever to achieving its goal of cleaning up the South East and, in the long run, playing its vital role in protecting the future of the environment.

Kent-based company, Cole Ironcraft has sympathetically restored a series of ornate railings at the St Paul’s Cathedral as part of a major scheme to refurbish the world famous 18th Century landmark.

In doing so, it has accurately recreated the original vision of one of the country’s most significant architects, Sir Christopher Wren.

It is the latest chapter in the company’s continued involvement with the historic London icon, which spans more than a quarter of a century. Initially, in 1974, WD Cole – which would later become Cole Ironcraft – carried out extensive renovations to the railings to St Paul’s North Churchyard.

And now, some thirty two years later, it has returned to the site to complete a highly involved contract that, as part of a £40million scheme to mark the 300th anniversary of the laying of the final stone of the dome’s lantern, has helped bring the South Churchyard back to its original best.

It comes after the area’s original iron railings, part of the 200 tonnes of original ironwork produced by the master craftsman of his time, Jean Tijou, had been deemed unsafe.

Setting about the highly sensitive works – commissioned by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s and overseen by architects Purcell Miller Tritton, whose Managing Director Martin Stancliff is the Surveyor of the Fabric – Cole Ironcraft carefully removed the railings from the original stonework. At the same time, it meticulously recorded which ballister matched to each finial. With thousands of them to work through, this alone was a challenging job that demanded total concentration.

Once removed, the repairable material was first blasted, before being filled and repainted to their original black finish. Any sections deemed beyond repair where recast with the assistance of a local foundry.

In September 2006, Cole Ironcraft began reinstalling the newly refurbished ironwork. Requiring newly created stonework to set into, Cole worked closely with stonemason, Stone West Ltd. In doing so, both companies demonstrated their impeccable standards to produce a finish that is not only of the highest quality, but matched the original works perfectly.

The South Churchyard project was officially opened by the Lord Mayor on 5th June this year.

Cole Ironcraft is part of the Cole Group, which also offers fencing and civil engineering services. The Cole Group, in turn, is part of the wider Countrystyle Group – Kent’s leading waste & recycling and agricultural contracting and managing provider.

Innovative technology which turns organic matter into biogas – a renewable source of energy and a transport fuel – could play an important part in helping farmers meet strict new environmental rules according to Environment Minister Phil Woolas Treating the manure in on-farm anaerobic digestion plants while it is being stored could produce biogas, which farmers could use as a source of energy.  The treated manure can be returned to the soil as fertiliser. See press release http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2008/080904b.htm

MUNICIPAL WASTE MANAGEMENT STATISTICS PROVISIONAL QUARTER 3 2007/08

Defra published provisional estimates from the Department’s survey of municipal waste in England, incorporating the third quarter of the 2007/8 financial year (October to December 2007).  These results are based on information supplied by local authorities to WasteDataFlow: See link http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/wastats/