Turmec

Over the years, the world has advanced toward a highly efficient circular economy— making the ecosystem more restorative and regenerative by design and practice. And in order to drive the recycling of resources even further, today, governments worldwide are exponentially increasing levies to divert waste material from landfills. These regulatory decisions are, in turn, calling upon the responsiveness of factories and waste management companies to pay greater attention to their waste treatment approach. For them, the liability is greater than just cutting down waste disposal costs and levies; it is more about their positive contribution toward environmental health. In that pursuit, a company that has been steadfastly helping waste and recycling industry experts across the globe stay at the helm of industrial, regulatory, and environmental requirements is Turmec.

Rolling back the years to the initial days that transformed the waste management industry forever, Bailey explains that about 20 years ago, landfill levies were first introduced in Ireland and the UK. The solid waste operators eventually realized that they couldn’t continue relying upon cheap landfill disposals for long. And as landfill levies kept increasing, the waste operators found it relatively economical to sort and refine the waste materials for reuse rather than dispose them. It was during this significant coming of age, with a foresight of how the waste management industry would eventually turn into, Turmec began designing solutions for the separation of the various materials, starting with soils and stone to produce recycled materials. Fast forward to today; Turmec has emerged as one of the pinnacles of tech companies facilitating green factories of the future.

At present, Turmec plants process the primary material mixes of Construction & Demolition (C&D), Commercial & Industrial (C&I), Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and Dry Mixed Recyclables (DMR) to produce high-quality recyclate. These include aggregate (in various size classifications), ferrous and non-ferrous metals, wood (split between natural and manufactured), plastic (bottles, film, mixed rigids), fibre, RDF, SRF, and fines (organic and inert). Turmec also provides secondary recyclates processing and has experience producing color-sorted cullet from mixed glass bottles, rubber recycling, composting, fines washing, and fuel pellet production.

A world leader in waste processing and recycling solutions, Turmec is a go-to name for planning, designing, manufacturing, installing, and supporting the very best waste recycling solutions for the last 45 years. “As specialists in recycling solutions, we offer bespoke systems that enable our customers to efficiently recover high-quality material from waste, ultimately helping them reduce the need for landfills,” asserts Geoff Bailey, CEO at Turmec.

Turmec’s solutions are always designed with a forward-thinking approach. This means, Turmec is always helping its clients stay abreast of the changing demands of the dynamic environment. A case in point—right now, the company is increasingly capitalizing on the industry’s recent trends around fines washing and alternative uses for the mixed lights fraction.

This is made possible because of the company’s core values, which are rooted in designing sustainable plants that incorporate the most appropriate equipment to align with a client’s recovery targets and budget allocation. For the same reason, Turmec is also uniquely positioned in the market as a technology-agnostic solution provider Turmec effectively supports its clients every step of the way, right from the initial point of contact until their revenue goals are met. This also includes third-party vendor management to take away the clients’ struggle of dealing with a multitude of suppliers. But what makes the entire collaboration process truly engaging is Turmec’s VR expertise. After the designs are drafted in 2D, the company’s in-house, highly skilled team helps clients get a 3D simulated view of how the plant would look before even breaking the ground. “And after the solution is implemented well within the deadlines, we keep the engagement going with unparalleled aftersales support,” states Bailey.

Riding on the coattails of these leading-edge services, Turmec has garnered numerous accolades from industry leaders and has been part of several success stories. A testament to this quality of service warrants a case study. In one instance, Turmec had successfully helped Powerday, a London-based firm offering market-leading waste management and recycling services, upgrade their plant. For Powerday’s shed to be able to fit new systems, the layout needed to be improved. At the same time, the machinery also required to be made more compact in the factory as there wasn’t much space to spare; some of the machines were due to be replaced while some had to be reused. Turmec’s expert team rearranged the machinery in a more compact layout. What was interesting was while the project was ongoing, no waste was turned away to the landfill—as parts of the plant still kept processing waste materials without any downtime. After the upgrade, the Powerday plant was able to process material more efficiently, eliminated double handling of the materials, reduced the number of pickers, and resulted in a higher quality of the recovered products.

This is but one of the numerous examples; currently, Turmec has been scripting success stories for more of such companies across the Irish, UK, and Australian markets. Looking ahead, Turmec plans to continue to this momentum of growth and become the springboard of success for facilities of other geographies as well, including the US, United Arab Emirates, and regions of Asia. Simultaneously, Turmec wants to remain at the cutting-edge of impending technological disruptions in the domain. “We are seeing big advances in the world of optical separation in waste management, wherein, apart from the traditional near infrared (NIR), X-ray technology is also being leveraged extensively. We are currently using a combination of NIR and X-ray technology in a Sydney-based plant to achieve a high purity recyclate,” concludes Bailey.