Engineering Professors win Welsh Government Award
19 February 2009
Professors Keith Williams and Tony Griffiths from the Cardiff School of Engineering have received wide media coverage of their Knowledge Transfer Partnership award for work on sustainable development with a local company LAS Recycling Ltd.
Cardiff University and LAS Recycling Ltd were presented with the Wales KTP Award by Dr David Grant, Vice-Chancellor of the University, at a ceremony held in Cardiff. Dr Grant presented the award on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government in his capacity as a member of the Technology Strategy Board.
LAS Recycling Ltd entered into partnership with the University as part of a long-term strategy to enhance and extend its sustainable development in the context of changing waste legislation.
A team from Engineering led by Professors Keith Williams and Tony Griffiths, helped to substantially enhance the company’s waste management capabilities through the design and commissioning of a new materials recovery facility.
This new facility, now in full operation at LAS Recycling’s Lampeter site, allows recyclable materials to be separated out during waste processing. Capable of processing a wide range of food materials, it has increased throughput and recovery rate: some 46,000 tonnes per year of municipal soiled waste can now be processed, diverting up to 50% from landfill.
LAS Recycling managing director Chris Saunders said: “We initiated this Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the university because we needed to update our facilities to meet with changing industry needs and waste legislation. The new facility designed with the help of the School of Engineering has placed us in a much stronger position to react to changes within our industry.”
Cardiff University School of Engineering Professor Keith Williams said: “Professor Griffiths and I, along with the rest of our team here, have gained a valuable insight into the waste management problems faced by local authorities today. We have also had the opportunity to gather much useful data which can be fed back into our teaching”.