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4.5 Deputy G.C.L. Baudains of St. Clement of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services regarding the environmental practices of the scrap metal facility at Bellozanne:
Further to my recent question regarding the scrap metal facility at Bellozanne, would the Minister not concede that removing upholstery from vehicles before crushing would be an environmentally superior option?
Deputy K.C. Lewis of St. Saviour (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services):
At present there are no viable markets for the recycling of polyurethane foam and fabric, which are the main components of upholstery from automotive sources. However, H.J.L. (Hunts (Jersey) Limited) and their partners are in the process of building a dedicated thermal processing plant in the U.K. using state-of-the-art process technology that will turn residual rubber foam and fabric into electricity. When the thermal processing plant commences operation in the first half of 2014, well over 95 per cent of the weight of the car will have been reused, recycled or turned into energy without any of the costs, risks and environmental burdens associated with removing the upholstery prior to crushing.
- Deputy G.C.L. Baudains:
It seems to me that there are several advantages associated with removing upholstery before crushing: less volume to ship, easier fragmentation when the crushed vehicle reaches its destination and more fuel for our incinerator to produce electricity, that is assuming it has not broken down. Would the Minister not agree this would be an environmentally superior alternative and would he advise whether it was his department that required the current contractor to use this process or was the decision made by the contractor themselves?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
There are very limited outlets that can use the residual covering. It is only fit for incineration really. It is very light weight. The cost of transport is negligible, it is such a light weight. Adding to the cost, importantly, of environmental impacts. It is a very high cost of removal, which is manual and labour intensive, and there is a high risk of using labour with sharp tools in manual processes. So it is not economically viable.
- Senator S.C. Ferguson:
Is the Minister aware that the system under the prior company, that of being able to obtain spare parts for old cars, is apparently no longer possible with the new company? They just cube the old cars and all the ability of getting a spare door or a spare bumper or something like that has totally gone, so they are not really recycling. Is the Minister aware of that and what does he propose to do about it?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
I have heard this many times before and, sadly, it is incorrect. The company does hold a limited amount of the, shall we say, common spares. Any other spares that are required can be ordered in advance. If the Senator would like a door for her VW or whatever, you phone- up and as soon as one comes in it is removed, put to one side and can be collected.
- Deputy G.C.L. Baudains:
In his previous answer to my supplementary, I could not understand what the Minister was on about with regard to the problem of taking upholstery out of a car. It seems to me that when the vehicle reaches the other side in a crushed condition any upholstery is going to be completely unrecyclable and everything is going to be mixed up. As an example, would the Minister tell me what happens if a bus or coach is scrapped? Clearly that cannot be crushed because it is too big to go in the machine. Is the upholstery taken out for those and, if so, where does it go?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
Not to my knowledge. If a large vehicle is too big to go into the crusher, it has to be cut in half, but there is no value for the upholstery whatsoever.