In its third year of operation, Recycle Southern’s Elbridge Farm Recycling Centre, has been getting busier and busier. And helping to keep operations flowing smoothly is its latest acquisition: a JCB JS131 LC Plus tracked excavator.
Garry Ayling, Managing Director of Recycle Southern, said: “This is the second JCB tracked excavator that we’ve had. It’s reliable and back-up from our local dealer, Greenshields JCB, is great. With their aid, we opted for the 131 LC PLUS because it is not fitted with an AdBlue system, which we prefer.”
Fully compliant, and regulated by the Environment Agency, The Elbridge Farm Recycling Centre, located just off the A259 between Chichester and Bognor, is one of very few sites near the south coast that is permitted to screen and crush inert material, as well as treating domestic, commercial and construction waste.
All waste collected by Recycle Southern’s fleet of skip, grab and tipper lorries, is brought into the recycling centre for separation into different waste streams and either recycled on site or bulked up and transferred to be recycled by other specialist licensed treatment plants. The small amount of waste that is not recyclable is transported for conversion to energy.
Garry Ayling said: “We receive inert and skip waste from local building sites, which is sorted into different waste streams such as cardboard, plastic, metal, wood and hardcore for recrushing and screening. The soil is screened out to extract hardcore for crushing into secondary aggregate.”
When it arrived on site, the JS131 was put to work loading the soil screener and loading lorries waiting to take out the material. As the only 13-tonne excavator on the market that doesn’t require a Diesel Particulate Filter, Selective Catalytic Reduction system or AdBlue after-treatment, the JS131 has been designed to maximise uptime and profit.
Tough enough to operate in waste and recycling sites, it has a maximum operating weight of 14,038 kg, a maximum bucket capacity is 0.85 cubic metres and its maximum engine power is 55 kW.
The JCB JS131’s large glass area and low bonnet line gives the driver superb visibility, while the 2GO system fully isolates hydraulic functions to avoid unintended machine movements. It also ensures that the machine can only be started in a safe locked position via two separate inputs. Cabs are available with an integral Rollover Protection Structure (ROPS). Standard fitment mounting brackets also make it easy to fit JCB’s Falling Object Guard Structure (FOGS).
There’s no need to climb on to the JS131 tracked excavator to check oil levels as all routine servicing can be done from ground level. The excavator’s bonnet opens front-to-rear for easy and safe engine service access. Steps and platforms have anti-slip punched steel plates for optimum grip, even in wet or icy conditions. Bolt-on plates have recessed bolts to reduce trip hazards. JCB’s Safety Level Lock fully isolates hydraulic functions to avoid unintended movements.
Helping to further improve productivity, JCB’s Quick Hitch system makes attachment changing fast and easy, and is purpose-designed for the JS range.
Garry Ayling added: “The JS131 has a reduced horsepower but a bigger hydraulic pump to compensate, which produces a quiet and efficient machine. We have a great relationship with JCB – all I have to do is pick up the phone to speak with an engineer at Greenshields. The machines are reliable and so is the back up.”
