With over 100 years in waste management, BIFFA started at a time when waste management simply meant taking it away. The company has evolved to provide organisations of all shapes and sizes with sustainable ways to manage waste. Recycling and recovery processes are an integral part of BIFFA’s services, to transform as much waste as possible into a raw material or resource to be looped back into the circular economy. As part of these services, the BIFFA facility in Milton Keynes required a system to process bulky waste and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).
“The project was to build a shredding facility that would take bulky waste from household recycling centres across Milton Keynes, shred it to a size suitable for incineration, while also removing any metals present in the waste stream,” said Andy Tapp, Site Manager at BIFFA Milton Keynes.
Collaborating with Terex Recycling Systems to plan, design and execute the project, BIFFA installed a user-friendly plant that features a fully integrated electrical control system with an intuitive interface. At the heart of the plant is the TDS-820SE low speed, high torque shredder with powerful twin shafts and aggressive teeth to provide efficient volume reduction of waste materials. The machine’s two-metre-long shafts, featuring fully welded teeth, offer impressive throughput and material reduction.
“We needed a shredder capable of handling anything from household waste, reducing it to the right size. After reviewing several machines, we chose the TDS-820SE. Since the shredder is fixed and indoors, we opted for the electric version. Terex even provided the opportunity for us to trial a diesel version beforehand, which helped confirm our decision.”
The bidirectional shredding capability of the TDS-820SE allows for greater flexibility in material processing, enabling BIFFA to not only handle bulky waste, but also POPs. POPs are toxic chemical substances that are commonly found in items such as fire-retardant-treated upholstered furniture and certain electrical devices. Since POPs resist natural breakdown and can remain in the environment for long periods, these pollutants pose serious risks to both human and wildlife health. In response, the UK Environment Agency has introduced strict regulations requiring POPs waste to be safely stored and processed—prohibiting disposal in landfills.
By incorporating the advanced separation and shredding technologies of the TDS-820SE, the BIFFA Milton Keynes plant enables POPs waste to be managed in full compliance with these regulations. “When we’re processing bulky waste, we can direct it one way, and when we switch to POPs waste, we can divert it into a separate RORO skip. This setup allows us to keep the two waste types completely separate, just as required,” explains Andy Tapp.
The system also includes a permanent over-band magnet for the removal of ferrous metals and an eddy current separator for the extraction of non-ferrous metals. The result is a shredded product that is ready for further processing at a waste-to-energy plant.
“The system has been superb—it removes ferrous and non-ferrous metals and allows us to shred and divert bulky and POPs waste into separate streams. The brief we gave to Terex Recycling Systems at the outset has been fully delivered, and we’re extremely pleased with the outcome.”
Michael McMenamin, Regional Sales Manager for Terex Recycling Systems added, “We are proud to support BIFFA with their ambitious efforts at Milton Keynes. The installation of our TDS-820SE electric shredder, combined with advanced separation technologies is a great example of how engineering innovation and customer collaboration can drive real environmental progress.”
