Investing £1.1m for a greener future

Select Environmental Services has just taken delivery of a new Roll on/off vehicle.

Select's new Roll On/Off Vehicle

This Mercedes-Benz Actros, shown here collecting construction waste, features the latest Euro 5 BlueTec engine technology and is equipped with an Autotrans gearbox that optimises gear changing to improve fuel efficiency. Fitted to the Actros chassis is a class-leading Hyva hookloader system capable of safely lifting 23,000kgs. This vehicle will assist Select in providing a high quality service to customers throughout Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and west London.

The roll on/off service is ideal for high volume waste and recyclate producers such as construction sites, factories, warehouses and schools. It is also a perfect choice for hospitals, hotels and shopping centres that generally use compactors as a means of efficiently reducing waste.

Construction Waste Roll On/Off Vehicle

The roll on/off service is suitable for construction waste, wood recycling, mixed recycling, plasterboard, general waste, plastics, cardboard and metal waste streams.

Philip Stone, Managing Director of Select commented “This Actros is just one of several new low-emission vehicles that have already been purchased this year to help maintain our position as the Thames Valley’s leading independent waste management specialist. And there’s more to come. Over the next two months 6 new bespoke vehicles will arrive to complete our £1.1M vehicle replacement initiative which will result in Select having the most up-to-date and environmentally sustainable fleet.”

Junk Collectors: a new alternative for low-cost waste removal

Whenever Reading based waste management specialist, Select Environmental Services, drafts its annual business plan, the management team is determined to enhance or introduce a new service to the company’s product range. In 2010 it was food waste recycling, and in 2009 – on-site document shredding.

JUNK Collectors
Last year, an off-the-cuff suggestion by one of its directors that maybe the Company should venture into the low-cost junk collection/ removal market, was initially dismissed as a bit of a joke. Why would Select, known for providing a professional and quality-led commercial waste management service, want to enter a sector that was rife with non-compliance on almost every level?

On the other hand, why not? 

Prior to 1980, the local junk collector was synonymously known as the ‘Rag and Bone Man’ who would announce his presence by bellowing “Any old Iron,” from his horse and cart. Fast forward to 2012, past the white tipper van brigade and junk collection has just got professional.

Junk Collectors is the creation of that initial idea. It’s a new brand with a strong identity that promotes quality, trust and value for money. All prices are clearly publicised on the Junk Collectors website and there are no hidden extras to pay. If you’re not sure how much junk you have, you can upload a photo and a Junk Collectors team member will calculate the price for you.

Programmes such as BBC’s Rogue Traders have exposed dubious, waste removal operators who charge unrealistic prices to dispose of rubbish and then fly-tip without any concern for the environment, or the landowner who has to pay to clear up the mess, or their customer who, if identified, could be prosecuted.

Disposing of waste correctly is an expensive business. The Government imposed Landfill Tax levy that is charged in addition to the actual disposal cost, has currently reached £64.00 per tonne and is expected to continue to rise. That’s why Junk Collectors aims to recycle as much as 90% of everything collected, with the remaining 10% being treated via Energy-from-Waste recovery.

Junk Collectors provides an alternative choice for both domestic and commercial customers.

Junk Collectors at home 

Not so long ago, we all took for granted that whatever rubbish we put out for collection would be picked up by the dustmen with little complaint. And, if you remembered them at Christmas, that little tipple would serve you well for the following year. Then the wheelie bins were introduced which restricted the type and volume of waste the dustmen would collect. After that, for most of us, came the fortnightly waste collections. Junk Collectors provides a low-cost, hassle free solution for that extra waste generated at home that won’t fit in your wheelie bin or recycling receptacles.

Junk Collectors at work 

In this day and age of health & safety and risk assessments, it’s a viable option for a business to outsource the collection of junk and bulky waste to a licensed waste management contractor that provides the labour too. Old photocopiers, desks, wood pallets and furniture can all be collected quickly at a time to suit you. As a subsidiary of Select, Junk Collectors also provides on-site document shredding, commercial recycling, general and hazardous waste removal.

Junk Collectors is not just a green choice, it’s a safe choice for both customers and the environment.
JUNK Collectors
Details: John Evans - 0118 975 9000
E: jre@selectenviro.co.uk   www.selectenviro.co.uk
E: john@junkcollectors.co.uk   www.junkcollectors.co.uk

Zero emissions

To coincide with our on-going pledge to operate the most fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly vehicles, Select has recently trialled an electric powered Mercedes-Benz Vito, seen here delivering internal recycling containers to the new Circle Hospital in Reading.

Known as the Vito E-Cell, this emission-free, standard specification Vito is ideal for local urban deliveries. The Vito E-Cell is battery powered with a restricted top speed of 55 mph; it also benefits from a class-leading payload of up to 775 kgs and has a travel range of 85 miles per 6 hour charge.

Following a short test drive at the Mercedes-Benz Van Experience 2012 event in Warwickshire, our local Mercedes-Benz dealer, Rygor Commercials, arranged for a week long demonstration which provided us with the opportunity to put the vehicle to the test.

Philip Stone, Managing Director of Select, is impressed with this latest innovation from Mercedes-Benz. “With the cost of diesel at an all-time high, we all have to look at sustainable alternatives that will reduce our future dependence of fossil fuels. As an ISO 14001 accredited company, Select is committed to further reducing its impact on the environment. We already purchase vehicles with fuel saving ECO-Start technology; this latest innovation is just one of several options being considered.

 

A proud day for Reading

On Tuesday 10th July 2012, it was Reading’s turn to welcome the Olympic flame. The torch relay started the day in Oxford before travelling through Abingdon, Wallingford, Henley-on-Thames, Maidenhead, Slough, Windsor, Ascot and Bracknell before finally arriving at the Madejski Stadium, Reading, for an official reception.

2012 Olympic Coach

Thousands of supporters braved the showers to celebrate this historic event that signifies peace, unity and friendship.

Select, who provides a total waste management service to the stadium complex, supplied additional recycling containers to cope with the increase in litter. Some of our staff also joined the crowds to have their photograph taken with several unlit Olympic torches that the official sponsors had kindly laid on.

Select supports the Olympic Games 2012

 

How confidential is your waste?

Most of us know we have a responsibility under the Data Protection Act 1998 to ensure that data containing information on a living person is processed correctly and disposed of securely when no longer required. However, apart from the obvious, such as medical, legal, personnel and financial records – what other documents should be considered confidential?Confidential Waste Shredding
It might surprise you to learn that any document, even a scrap of paper with someone’s name scrawled across it is legally protected and must be disposed of correctly.

Recently, several high-profile legal cases have exposed companies that failed to protect the personal data they hold.  This has resulted in substantial fines and damage to their reputation – not to mention the irreversible distress of those whose personal details have been lost or stolen.

In addition to the requirements of the Data Protection Act, every business has a commercial responsibility to its customers, stakeholders and employees to manage the secure containment and disposal of sensitive information.

‘Bin Raiding’ is a term used to describe the activity where someone deliberately rummages through your rubbish on the hunt for confidential data that can be used or sold on. At home this could be a utility bill or bank statement and is generally associated with Identity Theft. At work this could literally be anything: An invoice, client/supplier information, financial data; even a letterhead or signature is valuable to a criminal who can utilise it to impersonate your business and fraudulently obtain goods or services in your name which in turn could damage your financial status. Bin Raiding is also a method used by unscrupulous individuals who seek out client information from their competitors’ refuse to gain an unfair advantage. And as we all try to be greener, ironically we are making the criminals job easier as more of us separate our paper documents for recycling.

One way we can all safeguard against Bin Raiding and contravening the requirements of the Data Protection Act is to employ a secure shredding contractor.

Reading based Select Environmental Services is a UKAS ISO 14001 accredited contractor that specialises in the secure containment, shredding and recycling of all confidential waste. Our certified, cost-effective service is tailored to suit individual requirements and a validated Certificate of Destruction is provided once the waste has been securely destroyed. One-trip data destruction sacks and lockable storage consoles that keep confidential information secure from the moment it is discarded are also available.

To find out more please visit our website www.selectenviro.co.uk