But like any hydraulic machinery, performance depends on proper care.

A structured maintenance and safety routine doesn’t just prevent breakdowns. It protects your staff, supports compliance, controls costs and extends the life of your investment.

Here’s a practical, UK-focused checklist to help keep your industrial waste compactor operating at peak performance.

Why Preventive Maintenance Matters

Across sites operating industrial waste compactors UK-wide, one pattern is clear: reactive repairs cost more than preventative servicing.

Compactors deal with heavy loads, mixed waste streams, liquids and constant pressure cycles. Over time, wear on hydraulic components, seals and electrical systems is inevitable.

Without a maintenance routine, this can lead to:

• Unexpected downtime
• Hydraulic leaks or pressure loss
• Reduced compaction force
• Electrical control faults
• Odour and hygiene issues
• Increased call-out costs
• Safety risks and potential HSE breaches

Planned inspections dramatically reduce the risk of operational disruption and help ensure compliance with UK health and safety standards.

Daily Checks: Quick but Critical

Daily checks take minutes but can prevent major failures.

Operators should:

• Visually inspect the compactor for leaks or structural damage
• Check hydraulic hoses and fittings for wear
• Ensure emergency stop buttons are clearly accessible
• Confirm safety guards and interlocks are secure
• Remove large obstructions from the chamber
• Listen for unusual noises during operation

These checks should be logged. Consistency is key.

Weekly Checks: Performance & Wear Monitoring

Weekly inspections should go a step further.

Focus on:

• Ram guides and wear strips
• Hydraulic oil levels
• Door seals and hinges
• Safety interlocks and limit switches
• Cleanliness of loading and discharge areas

Electrical inspections should only be carried out by qualified personnel.

For businesses operating multiple industrial waste compactors UK-wide, aligning weekly inspections across sites ensures consistent performance and easier benchmarking.

Monthly Checks: Deeper Inspection

A monthly review should assess structural and hydraulic integrity.

This includes:

• Full hydraulic inspection (pressure, leaks, system condition)
• Frame and weld integrity checks
• Compaction plate wear inspection
• Emergency stop and reset testing
• Review of operating logs
• Safety signage visibility

Documented monthly inspections demonstrate due diligence and strengthen compliance positioning.

Cleaning & Hygiene Management

Waste residue buildup is one of the most common causes of avoidable issues in industrial waste compactors.

Good hygiene practice includes:

• Cleaning loading areas daily
• Removing debris from chamber edges
• Inspecting drainage points
• Scheduled deep cleaning (where manufacturer-approved)
• Ensuring timely container removal

Poor cleaning can result in odour complaints, pest attraction, corrosion and reduced equipment lifespan.

Where organic waste is present, hygiene discipline becomes even more important.

Safety Systems: Non-Negotiable

Every industrial waste compactor must have fully operational safety systems.

These should include:

• Interlocked guards
• Clearly marked emergency stops
• Lockable isolation switches
• Appropriate warning signage
• Safe maintenance access

No compactor should ever operate with bypassed safety systems. If a safety mechanism fails, the equipment should be removed from service until properly repaired.

Routine safety testing should be documented as part of site compliance procedures.

Operator Training & Record Keeping

Even the most robust industrial waste compactors UK businesses install can become a risk without trained operators.

Best practice includes:

• Formal operator training
• Refresher sessions
• Clear operating procedures
• Maintenance logbooks
• Retained inspection records

Training protects both staff and equipment, while documentation supports compliance and insurance requirements.

When to Call in the Specialists

Some issues require professional intervention.

Contact a specialist service provider if you notice:

• Hydraulic leaks
• Pressure instability
• Persistent electrical faults
• Reduced compaction performance
• Structural distortion
• Excessive vibration or abnormal noise
• Safety circuit failure

Early intervention prevents minor faults from becoming major repairs.

At PRM Waste Systems, we provide structured servicing and maintenance support for industrial waste compactors UK-wide, helping businesses minimise downtime and maintain operational continuity.

Protecting Your Investment

A well-maintained industrial waste compactor delivers:

• Lower operating costs
• Improved safety
• Reduced downtime
• Stronger compliance
• Extended equipment lifespan

Across warehouses, distribution centres, hospitality venues and manufacturing sites, preventative maintenance turns compaction equipment into a dependable operational asset.

Need Support with Your Industrial Waste Compactor?

Whether you require preventative servicing, emergency breakdown response or advice on maintaining your industrial waste compactors, the PRM Waste Systems team is here to help.

Contact us today to discuss a tailored service plan and keep your compaction equipment running safely and efficiently.

The post Industrial Waste Compactor Maintenance Checklist appeared first on PRM.

We have such a wonderful team at PRM and are keen to share more about the way we work and our culture here. For that reason we’d like you to meet our team…

First up is Robin, who is one of our Engineering Development Managers. Here he explains what working in our engineering team entails, and the parts of the job he loves;

Describe your role at PRM?

I am part of our inhouse engineering team. I design recycling equipment and one off bespoke items from concept all the way through to manufacture and install.

Who else in the business do you work with?

I work closely with our sales team to really understand our customers needs and requirements, and to make sure our products can exceed them.

Our workshop being on site is a huge advantage, it makes it much easier to understand what our manufacturing capabilities are, as we have regular face to face contact with the team who are actually building the end products and systems.

Everyone in the business is very easy to work with and the whole company works as a team to deliver projects, and overcome the inevitable challenges encountered along the way.

What inspires you at work?

I find it inspiring to keep up with industry changes and learn new ways of looking at challenges. The business is very keen to encourage continuous learning, our knowledge of waste equipment is exceptional but we know that technology is ever-changing.

I am also very driven by designing and developing equipment that’s necessary to society and which helps make our planet a greener place.

What’s the project/task you’ve been most proud of to date?

Developing the PRM Bio-Processor, and continuing to innovate and improve this equipment. The Bio-Processor is filling a genuine need, it’s getting rid of a lot of carbon created by road miles and often creates a closed loop recycling system for a wide range of businesses. It has a lot of environmental advantages.

From a professional perspective it’s been extremely interesting to be a part of a company transitioning from only selling products to also manufacturing them. The benefits of having our inhouse production team are so important, it lets us integrate equipment exceptionally well and build whole systems. It also reduces time scales and makes costs much lower for customers.

What do you wish you had more time for?

Developing brand new products. There is a long list of products we’d love to develop, and we have loads of innovative ideas, its hard to find time for all of them.

The post Meet The Team – Robin Ingram, Engineering Development Manager appeared first on PRM.

We are delighted to announce that PRM Waste Systems are now the exclusive UK partner for Bianna Advanced Recycling Technologies, and now supplying Bianna recycling plants in the UK.

Brian Moore, Managing Director at PRM, comments “we are thrilled to have secured this partnership with Bianna. Their vast experience, commitment to quality, and forward-thinking approach align perfectly with PRM’s mission to revolutionise recycling plants in the UK.”

Bianna has over 240 recycling plants and three decades of experience in the waste and recycling sector;  building treatment plants, providing turnkey solutions and supporting clients with engineering alongside consulting and advisory services. Their unrivalled expertise and dedication have earned them a superb reputation for delivering top-quality equipment and solutions.

The new WAYS2 framework at Bianna draws heavily on their expert know-how and experience, providing mechanical pre-treatment systems utilising the latest thermic and physicochemical waste treatment processes. The overarching objective of the framework is to obtain new raw materials and fuels, offering an alternative to fossil fuels or other limited resources.

Bianna’s extensive manufacturing capabilities, boasting a remarkable production area of over 70,000 square meters, equip them with the capacity to deliver complete recycling plants. Their state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technology ensure the highest standards of quality and efficiency.

Brian Moore continues “the partnership provides us with a great opportunity to introduce new technologies to both existing and new customers, a crucial step to the decarbonisation of key strategic sectors. This marks a significant milestone in PRM’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge recycling technology to the UK.”

Learn more about Bianna’s global operations here: https://bianna.com/en/

The post PRM Announces Partnership with Bianna supplying Recycling Plants in the UK appeared first on PRM.

In a world increasingly focused on sustainable growth and sustainability for the environment, PRM wanted to build on their solid foundations to make these global ambitions intrinsic to their business.  It is with the appointment of a Commercial Director, Sam Dennett, that PRM can move towards these ambitions.

Sam has a strong accountancy background which lead him into commercial management, specialising in turn-key solutions.  Utilising this experience Sam will be working to support bespoke projects for new and existing customers in order to maximise the ROI for the customer and support PRM with new ventures.

 Brain Moore, MD comments on the appointment –

‘Despite the challenges Covid-19 and Brexit have brought many businesses, I am delighted to have a positive development which will support PRM and our customers.  As a business we have known Sam for about 10 years and know he will fit into our dynamic team to support and contribute to the management of our continued growth and support our customers with their commercially sustainable goals’.

Fostering Innovation

PRM’s Design and Engineering department are passionate about innovation and continuous improvement to pre-empt operational difficulties for users and support the ROI for the customer.  This ethos applies to both turn-key equipment supply and bespoke projects for the waste and recycling industries. 

New Opportunities

Sam is looking forward to the new opportunities that the appointment provides and is eager to develop long term relations with customers to support their growth and investment within their waste processing facilities, he adds ‘the waste industry is booming and I am looking forward to tapping into unexplored markets whilst working with the Design and Engineering department to harvest their creativity to support new ventures whilst supporting PRM as we advance together.’

You can meet Sam and some of the PRM team at the Let’s Recycle Live Exhibition on 15^th & 16^th September 2021, stand C2 – If you have a materials recycling dilemma, PRM will find a solution.

The post New Commercial Director Appointment at PRM appeared first on PRM.

Supermarkets produce a large amount of plastic pallet wrap waste used to protect stock during transportation.  Most have a system in place for what to do with the wrap once it is removed from stock but this can be time consuming and untidy and in this case it took up valuable space in the store aisles.  Furthermore, double handling of waste can be unhygienic and labour intensive.

After visiting several stores and assessing the system they had in place (a cardboard box which needed to be regularly emptied at the back of house);  it was decided the best way to improve efficiency would be with a custom designed, 800L Knapzak frame, that would fit onto the supermarket’s Euro Pallet. 

Benefits of the Knapzak System

• Space Saving – The Knapzak frame fits directly onto the pallet, so takes up no extra floor space.
• Time Saving – The bag is twice the height of the boxes used previously, allowing for far more product to be put in it before having to change it, saving time.
• The bag is clear plastic, so any contamination can be seen instantly.  This avoids the waste being rejected later.
• No need for double handling.  The bags can be sealed and put straight into the baler.

Trials

The Knapzak system was initially trialled in 2 stores, before adding 3 more to the mix.  The trial ran for 4 months to allow the customer time to get a true idea of if and how the system would benefit the business. 

Installation

The trial was deemed a great success and the system has now gone live in every one of the supermarket’s UK stores, with over 800 Knapzak frames being sent to sites around the country in the first order.

PRM and Knapzak worked together to develop the custom-made frame to ensure the solution was cost effective and appropriate for the customer.  If you are looking for a solution to source segregation, contact us today! 

The post Custom Knapzak System Improves Efficiency on Shop Floor appeared first on PRM.

After selling our previous model this will allow us to once again offer the screw press to conduct trials. The press can be delivered to your site, to allow you to trial your product at a time and place convenient to you. When your trial is booked, we will arrange for our Runi expert to Tony to come to your site to set up the equipment and demonstrate how it works. He can also advise how to get most out of the machine when processing your product.

Depackaging

Depackaging and liquid separation is a key process in volume and weight reduction of waste products. The process separates liquid from containers in order for the component parts to be recycled and reused.

The Runi screw compactor is most suited to packaged materials including:

• Packaged food waste
• PET bottles
• Cans
• PE film
• Cosmetics

Runi for Food Waste

The Runi dewatering/depackaging machine has also proven effective at separating food waste from its packaging. This is a highly effective process that can enhance your AD plant producing an additional, valuable feedstock and reducing the weight and volume of the remaining packaging.

Trials have typically demonstrated a reduction in weight by 50%.

When processing 2.6 tonnes of food waste in plastic packaging, weight reduction was calculated at 54.7%. This equates to 9 Dolav-type bins of waste being reduced to 2 bins.

Dewatering Organic Materials

If you are looking to process organic, fibrous material such as: raw food waste; fruits and vegetables; tobacco; manure; crops; paper and pulp then the Vincent Screw Press will be more suitable for you.

If you have a product that could benefit from being dewatered or depackaged, then please do get in touch to find out more or to arrange a trial.

The post State of the Art Trial Machine Coming Soon appeared first on PRM.

Tresco Island, in the Isles of Scilly, face unique challenges to managing their waste and recycling due to their island location, but for decades they have proudly led the way with recycling throughout the islands. Glass is crushed on-island and used as an aggregate, whilst metal, paper and cardboard are sent to the mainland for recycling and used cooking oil is recycled into Biodiesel. Residual waste is sent to a mainland waste-to-energy plant. Tresco separate their waste religiously and found food waste accounted for 24% of the island’s total waste.

Earlier this year, with support from the European Regional Development Fund, they were able to construct a new Recycling Hub and install a PRM Bio-Processor in there to reduce the volume of food waste.

The P1000 Bio-Processor from PRM utilises a thermophilic bacterial process in the operation. Moist organic material is converted in the digester to a friable, low moisture, low odour, stable product suitable for onward co-composting, anaerobic digestion or where appropriate, biofuel use. The PRM range of Bio-Processors have been proudly designed and built in Somerset, using only parts sourced from within the UK.

This innovative technology will help Tresco to reduce the volume of their food waste by up to 80% in as little as 24 hours. Not only is the volume reduced but the end product will be put to use on the land, meaning no food waste is sent to landfill. The end product is mixed with woodier ingredients and used in the Abbey Garden and woodland area, as a nutrient-rich soil enhancer.

Diana Mompoloki, Estate Director of Tresco Island says: “This process is expected to save about 160 tonnes of methane gas per annum mitigating our contribution to climate change.”

If your business could benefit from an onsite solution to reducing your food waste, then contact us to find out more.

The post Island Waste Transformed by Bio-Processor appeared first on PRM.

Sheppy’s Cider Farm Shop and Restaurant near Taunton is hosting a long-term site trial of our Bio-Processor, a machine that uses up to the minute technology, designed and developed at our very own site here in Wellington, Somerset.

Unavoidable organic waste is a feature of all produce suppliers and restaurants and can hamper recycling efforts, as well as cause hygiene issues.

At Sheppy’s the machine is taking all the food-waste from the Apple Bay Restaurant kitchen, which is then turned into an inoffensive compost-like product.

How does it work?

The PRM Bio-Processor reduces organic waste by up to 80% overnight by cleverly adapting to its workload and being simple and efficient in operation. Up to three feeds a day, and in the morning the output drops into a bin.

Sheppy’s affectionately refer to their machine as the ‘Muncher’ and think of it like a pet pig with a huge appetite. A bucketful of pressed cider apples disappeared without a trace!

Louisa Sheppy said: “As an enthusiastic environmentalist I have been very pleased to host this impressive technology trial here, and delighted with the way the staff have embraced it. It has been a very pleasant alternative to food waste bins and has engaged everyone in a sense of responsibility for the quality of the waste which the Muncher produces.”

Who is the Bio-Processor right for?

The technology is proudly designed and built in Britain, and has already produced some astonishing results in in-house tests which have explored the potential of the machine to ‘mine’ useful resources from shellfish and other organic wastes to make bio-plastic and fuel oil; a concept the developers call ‘bio-recovery’.

Following the success of the Sheppy’s trial, this machine, the P250, has now been installed in large scale staff canteens. A larger version, a P500, was developed and installed into a meat producer, while the largest version in the range, the P1000, tackles organic bio-recovery on an industrial scale and has been successfully installed in a remote island location.

To find out more about the Bio-Processor and how it could help your business reduce its food waste, contact us here.

The post Bio-Processor at Sheppy’s Cider appeared first on PRM.

This recycling facility has now bought another screen to help process waste. This is a small Flip Flow screen that will allow them to reduce the landfill costs of their smaller material.

The TOPCILLA has been delivered and installed into its final place, awaiting the rest of the structure to be completed around it. 

JOEST have recently celebrated 100 years. JOEST started out as a simple repair shop for explosion resistant electric motors, such as those used in the mining industry. In the 50s, JOEST delivered the first machines that used vibratory motors. A milestone that turned out to be significant for the company’s future. This way, the company from Dülmen made themselves independent from mining and opened themselves up to numerous other industries. The company is now thriving with over 750 employees in 5 countries.

If your recycling facility could benefit from JOEST screening equipment, contact us to find out more. 

The post Screening to Reduce Waste to Landfill appeared first on PRM.

Increasing capacity for recycling plastics

In Europe, the installed capacity for recycling flexible polyethylene has been increasing significantly in recent years. Since 2015, the installed capacity for recycling flexible PE has grown approximately from 1.5M/t per year to 2.3M/t per year. Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and France represent nearly two thirds of the installed recycling capacity. Their sources of flexible PE plastics waste are predominantly commercial and retail, then from production, agriculture and household. Earlier this week ABC news reported a similar boom to recycling plants in the US. Interestingly, with some of the investment coming from Chinese companies that are interested in accessing wastepaper or flattened bottles as raw materials for manufacturing.

Drying using less energy

The Runi dewatering screw press is working successfully in a number of overseas plants, providing great results drying plastic flake prior to extrusion. The Runi SK370 Screw compactor can achieve 90-95% dry content processing washed LDPE-film flakes. We believe the UK market could also be reaping the same benefits. 

The Runi system has been supplied to a number of processors in Europe, some new build and some for existing operations to reduce the amount of energy consumed during the drying process with great results. Traditionally, the drying process has been carried out using hot air, centrifuging and agglomerating; this process demands a large amount of energy. With the Runi system, we can increase the dry matter content of the PE film from 60% to 90% with a low energy consumption of about 24 kW per 1,000 kg PE film. An added advantage is that where the screw compactor is installed the overall process will be faster and increase capacity on the whole line.
The SK370 has been developed to operate on a fully automatic production line, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Letsrecycle Live

If you would like to find out more about the Runi, visit us on stand C2 at Letsrecycle Live this week.

The post Growth of Plastic Recycling in Europe appeared first on PRM.