phs Wastekit Case Study: The phs Wastekit Difference is Clear at Bangla Station
Date:April 2019
Bangla Station Wholesale Foods Ltd benefits from clearer, safer space thanks to a phs Wastekit baler.
Background: Established in Birmingham in 2000, Bangla Station Wholefoods Ltd imports a wide range of seafood, meat, poultry and vegetables. Since it opened, it has earned an enviable reputation as a leading distributor of Freshwater King Prawns and freshwater fish from Southeast Asia as well as a range of halal foods.
Challenge: With a large quantity of cardboard used to transport the foodstuffs to Bangla Station, the skip being used to store the waste wasn’t able to contain such large quantities. Cardboard was often being blown around the site, leaving storage and outside areas messy and potentially hazardous.
Gulfraz Farid, Manager at Bangla Station had employed the use of a roll on, roll off skip which was collected and emptied on an irregular basis. This was not the best use of space and staff were having to flatten and fold the cardboard before loading it into the skip. This was time consuming and strenuous.
With the business rapidly expanding, all capacity and time could have been better invested in new products and maintaining the high quality of service for increasing customer numbers.
Solution: phs Wastekit’s local Account Manager arrived on the scene at Bangla Station to carry out a full survey of the 8000ft2 site. During the consultation, he was able to see the limitations of the skip for containing the waste and observed the cardboard mess which he feared might attract rodents.
With the need to prevent cardboard from overflowing from the skip, and have it easily and regularly removed from site, a phs Wastekit baler was the perfect solution. This would allow cardboard to be placed in one location and be mechanically compressed, keeping storage and operator effort to a minimum.
The quantities of cardboard were assessed, and Mr Farid was presented with contract options along with honest and genuine advice involving the revenue that could be generated from properly compacted cardboard, which could offset the cost of a baler.
At a time suitable for Bangla Station, a 3800 machine was installed by phs Wastekit in an agreed location, both convenient for the business and within reach of the required power supply. The Account Manager oversaw the operator training of five of Bangla Station’s staff and made himself available for queries during the baler’s introduction to the site.
Keeping in regular contact with Mr Farid, the Account Manager was able to assess the effectiveness of the baler and recommended up-sizing the baler when it became apparent that this was necessary.
Benefits: The 3800 baler takes up a fraction of the space of the skip that was previously used while still containing all of the cardboard waste. Health & Safety has been improved with little risk of cardboard causing a trip hazard or gathering for rodents to nest.
The baler is quick and easy to operate, and allows staff to better spend their time on more productive jobs at the fresh food wholesalers. Bangla Station can feel confident that in using the baler, its environmental profile is raised and staff are more confident to be working in tidier surroundings.
450-500kg bales of cardboard are produced which are regularly removed from site by a disposal company and transported to a recycling facility. Bangla Station now receives a rebate for the cardboard which has been turned into a commodity, rather than an inconvenience.
Thanks to phs Wastekit’s close contact, any issues, such as over- or under-capacity can be addressed immediately. As the business grows, the potential for further space and cost savings can be discussed through the use of other waste management products, such as plastic balers.
Gulfraz Farid said: “Until phs Wastekit showed us what could be done with the cardboard, we didn’t know that there was a much tidier alternative to a skip. We’re delighted that we’ve installed the baler and our staff can now benefit from a safer, cleaner and tidier working area. I appreciate the attention given to us by the Account Manager and the advice to upgrade to a larger baler.
We can now dedicate more time to our excellent customer service and the income generated from the cardboard bales is just a bonus. I’d thoroughly recommend that any business using cardboard on any scale considers a phs Wastekit baler.”