LAWR

August 2015 Local Authority Waste & Recycling 21 operator with another five to six years of service. Accountability issues One of the reasons that refuse vehicle bodies are so overlooked is the lack of current legislation mandating operators to look after the bodies, unlike vehicle chassis. Hence why a five- to seven-year-old chassis is nearly always returned in good condition, yet the body and compactor rarely are. There is legislation that requires operators to keep vehicle chassis properly serviced, maintained and safe, but currently nothing exists for vehicle bodies. LOLER checks that bin lifts are fit for purpose and safe, but doesn't relate to optimum functioning. Bodies and bin lifts are expensive assets and the current approach to after-care is uneconomic. The answer lies in the proper management of these assets, meaning proactive maintenance undertaken by experienced engineers. Specialist training and engineer accreditation would help to set a quality standard. Take a new vehicle, manage that asset carefully, keep it well serviced and maintained and you're looking at 15 years plus service from it with minimum downtime. Currently the average life for disposal of a refuse vehicle is between five to seven years. Across the waste management sector there is a drive for innovative ways to grow, operate and refresh waste and recycling fleets. There is a huge demand for quality used vehicles and increasingly customers are bringing their vehicles back to us after five years for a mid-life value added overhaul so they can get another four to five years of service. There is definitely a desire to manage vehicles better for the long- Spencer Law is managing director of Refuse Vehicle Solutions " The average life for disposal of a refuse vehicle is between five to seven years " Refuse Vehicle Solutions operates a model for extending the life of RCVs that reflects circular economy principles. It is akin to contract hire whereby a customer purchases a vehicle, including the maintenance, that can last for up to ten years – seeing the vehicle through its the first, second and third life until it becomes parts. The RVS lifecycle service model is as follows: ● New vehicle or new chassis with remanufactured body ● Preventative regular maintenance ● At four years the vehicle is returned for mid-life value added work, transforming it into a quality used vehicle ● Back into service for another four to five years to original customer, or to a different customer ● Returned as a nine- to ten-year-old vehicle. Chassis is sent to vehicle dismantler with the parts returned back to RVS – the customer is reimbursed or equivalent value is held on account for future parts requirement. The body is remanufactured 'as new' and mounted onto new chassis ● Remanufactured vehicle returned to customer for another four to five years of service ● The circle begins again Remanufacturing for longer life term. We are experiencing a growing emphasis on after sales support, such as field engineer services, technical advice, parts and temporary vehicle support via our product support fleet. By keeping customers' vehicles working at optimum levels, we know the history of the vehicle when they bring it back to us for remanufacturing and its easier to make it as good as new for another five years' service. When the vehicle does finally reach the end of its life, we'll take it back, dismantle it and reuse the parts for the remanufacture of other vehicles, and so the cycle continues. As expectation mounts over the second coming of the European Commission's Circular Economy Package, visitors to RWM this year will get the chance to question one of the Commission's key decision-makers on this policy piece directly. Karl Falkenberg, Environment Director General of the European Commission, will be giving a keynote speech in the show's Circular Economy Connect (CEC) Theatre about the package – Falkenberg has played a pivotal role in drafting both the original and revised proposals. The latest proposed measures put forward by the Commission, which are currently out for consultation, look to address issues around production and consumption, markets for secondary raw materials, sector-specific actions and enabling factors including investment and incentives. The final package is due to be announced in October. The CEC Zone and Theatre features a packed schedule of workshops and seminars. Key themes that will be discussed at at CEC include government intervention, global impacts, corporate responsibility and behaviour change. There will also be speakers from organisations that have already adopted circular economy principles such as B&Q, McKinsey & Company, SITA and Zero Waste Scotland. Euro Circular Economy Package under spotlight at RWM RWM WITH CIWM 2015 PREVIEW

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