Planglow

Closing the loop

Aug 25, 2022

In the run up to the Public Sector Catering Expo, we wanted to introduce you to our closed-loop partners PRM Waste Systems, who'll also be on the stand with us, starting with product manager Paul.

Who are PRM Waste Systems - our closed-loop partners?

We first teamed up with the lovely PRM back in 2019. The company was founded in 1998 by Brian and Helen Moore and is a forward-thinking family-run business who honed in on recycling solutions from the very beginning. PRM provide brilliant bio waste disposal units that absolutely love our plant-based packaging. The units break down our products - along with food waste - onsite helping your food business to close the loop regardless of alternative waste providers that may or may not be operating in your area. (Essentially it’s a really easy and cost-effective way to dispose of your waste and removes the need for waste collections.)

When tested, PRM found the decomposition of our plant-based and compostable food and drink packaging products to be “unprecedented and beyond expectations”. Even at a volume of 75% packaging waste, we achieved near-complete degradation after 17 hours (read more on this here).

Hey Paul, good to see you! Ok, let’s start with how you can help our customers - PRM supports a wide range of industries, how do you support caterers in particular?

Hello there! Well, we can help in multiple ways as we offer recycling solutions ranging from simple cardboard/can balers and segregation systems to food waste and compostable recycling.

You’ve been with PRM for a while now…

Yes, seven years this September as the product manager for the Bio Processor range, I cover the whole of the UK and developing the export market. It’s a great team of people working like a large family.

So how did you come to be working for PRM?

My background is in farming, then equipment sales with a focus on recycling. After agricultural college, I moved into tractor sales. This farming background provides an interesting link with my current role, as there is now a big demand for our product in farm shops and cafes as they can close the loop on their food waste and packaging.

Can you tell us more about your brilliant bio-processors?

Absolutely! They are aerobic (meaning they use oxygen) dry digesters. The user simply loads food waste into the barrel. It’s like a big food mixer on its side with an agitator that pumps air in and then takes it out again. A special enzyme added to the barrel breaks food down reducing it by 80% to a dry, stable material that can be put to good use as a soil nutrient. Alternatively, it can be used very effectively as a biomass fuel.

There are various sizes from the P250 (around the size of a wheelie bin) for small restaurants or farm shops, up to the P3000 which could be used by a food factory for example.

It’s very simple for food businesses to use, cutting down the costs of waste collection as well as time otherwise spent to separate it. If anyone ever says it’s too difficult to recycle their food packaging, I always reply that it’s easier than putting rubbish in the bin as the bio-processor’s lid even lifts! I am a firm believer that we should not think about waste, only resources and the units really support this.

Can you tell us how the partnership with Planglow came about?

I connected with one of Planglow’s account managers, Sally Little, on LinkedIn. We met up with her and other members of the Planglow team at Sheppy's Cider Farm Shop to demonstrate the bio-processor. From there, our partnership has gone from strength to strength.

(Sally Little on PRM & Planglow's stand at Commercial Kitchen)

Bioprocessing aside, what else do you enjoy doing?

My love of agriculture has not dwindled, and as a hobby, I collect models and attend classic tractor events and agricultural shows. Also, for 15 years or so, I’ve enjoyed on and off-road bikes - both motor and mountain bikes. I cycle through forest parks and on green lanes in the countryside. This hobby is shared by other members of the PRM team too. I also love gardening (again there’s the farming theme) as it’s relaxing to work in the garden as well as to sit back and enjoy the rewards of all the effort.

If you could only eat one thing for lunch, what would it be? And who would you like to spend lunch with most?

It would have to be a pasty as it’s a complete meal in itself. I’d invite Guy Martin, former Isle of Man TT racer, heavy vehicle mechanic, and TV presenter, to join me. Rather than being pretentious, he’s ‘this is who I am, this is what I am’. In fact, he drove a JCB tractor into the record books and I have a photo of him with the machine and a signed model JCB too.