Wakefield-based Inprotec installs state-of-the-art dust extraction system at UK’s biggest battery recycling centre

Wakefield-based engineering firm Inprotec has completed a significant project to install a state-of-the-art system to capture and safely extract operational dust at the UK’s only Alkaline battery recycling centre.

Inprotec installed the Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) system at the Halifax facility run by WasteCare, one of the UK’s biggest independent waste management and recycling businesses, with more than 500 employees across 17 facilities in the UK.

Under its BatteryBack compliance scheme, WasteCare collects millions of batteries from 30,000 collection points across the UK, safely transporting them to its Halifax facility where they are sorted and recycled. The process sees the batteries fed into a crusher, with the crushed material separated into ferrous (iron), paper and plastic, and metal rich ‘black mass’ fractions using separation technologies.

The LEV system, which was designed, manufactured, and installed by Inprotec’s industry-leading experts, captures the dusts emitted into the factory air during the sorting and crushing of the batteries. It was installed as part of a project to ensure the site meets stringent operational requirements.

Commenting on the project, Inprotec MD Chris Oldroyd said:

“Inprotec and WasteCare share a commitment to helping to create a truly circular economy through our work, so we were delighted to have been able to support them with this important project.

“Dust from the seven million batteries the plant recycles every year is inevitable, but the system we’ve installed will ensure that it is effectively captured and safely extracted, improving the working environment and enabling WasteCare to continue to operate safely and efficiently.”

Graeme Parkin, Operations Director of the WasteCare Group said:

“There’s nothing more important to us than the health and safety of our employees and the state-of-the-art system Inprotec has installed at our Halifax facility will help to ensure we maintain a safe and clean environment for our team to work in, while at the same time delivering significant environmental benefits.”

Inprotec is a family-run engineering business which specialises in the design and supply of pyrometallurgical process plant used to recover lead and precious metals, operating all over the world.

In June, Chris was appointed to the board of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Sustainable Development Group (SDG), which serves as a global centre of expertise on sustainability and the environment. The role will see him act as the representative for the Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy division.