01746 710799 | enquiries@sea-chem.co.uk | @SeaChemLtd

We've just launched our new 2012 'Organic Cleaning Products' catalogue, containing information about all our seaweed-based cleaning solutions. Click on the banner above to view/download your copy today.

Sector's Dynamic Network

From the Shropshire Star, Tuesday 10 January 2012:

Metnet is a dynamic network for environmental technology businesses and businesses looking to diversify into the low-carbon sector.

The environment industry is incredibly diverse, highly profitable and growing rapidly. The sector generates a significant level of employment and income to the region.

Across Herefordshire, Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire and Worcestershire, research has revealed a significant number of environmental technology businesses making it a sector that is of vital importance to the prosperity of the region and one that is also growing with a wealth of opportunity.

There are many environmental technology firms operating in the area of waste management including recycling, environmental consultancy and water and wastewater treatment. There is also considerable expertise in food sector waste management, energy efficiency, low carbon technologies and community-based energy schemes.

Metnet is a network which promotes collaborative working and business growth among businesses that provide products or services within the environmental technologies sector in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

Sea-Chem, based in Claverley, Shropshire, makes products from sustainably-harvested seaweed for industrial applications. David Ross, Business Development Manager at Sea-Chem, said of his involvement with metnet: "Above all else, metnet has given us the chance to showcase our technology. In particular, events where people can come and see what we do and speak directly to us is fantastic. We've won new business thanks to an opportunity created by metnet, when we were invited to take part in their stand at the Sustainability Live! event at the NEC in Birmingham last year."

Find out how metnet can support your environmental business by visiting their website.

A Happy New Year from Sea-Chem!

As a company Sea-Chem made great strides in 2011, and we're hoping for more of the same over the next twelve months. From the garden centres who will be stocking our Shropshire Seaweed products for the first time in 2012, to the remediation contractors who are beginning to switch over to our sustainable soil treatments, we have a lot to look forward to. We're also excited about the growth of our eCommerce activities following the launch of our Sea-Chem Store in November - and with the establishment of the Seaweed Industry Association's online marketplace in the coming weeks, we hope to be exporting our innovative seaweed goods not only to UK homes but to customers right across the globe.

Here's to a prosperous 2012 for all our suppliers, customers and partners!

PPF Environmental Services opens new plastic wash and recycling facility in Birmingham

From Scrap-Ex News, Monday 21 November 2011:

A new plastic wash and recycling facility for contaminated plastic has been opened by PPF Environmental Services.

The 4,000 tonne per year facility will take contaminated HDPE and PP rigid packaging and will process it into a high standard granulate.

PPF Environmental owner Paul Woodhead told SCM news: “We’ve bought a system from Rotajet that means we take plastics of little value that are destined to either go abroad or be sent to landfill.

“The rigid HDPE and or PP packaging such as contaminated food buckets or chemically contaminated materials is what we are after such as HDPE drums, kegs, containers and IBCs (Intermediate Bulk Containers) and then this goes through our process.”

The material is given a pre-preparation clean, although the company ideally would like it supplied pre-prepared, before it goes through a shredder to produce a 40mm shred. It is then washed in an Archimedes screw-type system using a seaweed-based cleaning agent from British company Sea-Chem. It is then dried and granulated into 10 to 12mm granulate before being sold into the UK wholesale market or to companies such as Iplas for use in furniture. The company is seeking other markets as well as feedstock for the material.

Paul Woodhead added: “This is a completely new facility in the centre of Birmingham near to Birmingham City football club. We put the plant in during July, and have been commissioning it then and November is the first month we have been operating fully.”

This is the second company to recently open a plastics recycling facility in Birmingham with Recycled Polymers recently opening a facility that can process PP, PS, HDPE and ABS.

We are pleased to announced that we have just launched our brand-new e-commerce portal - Sea-Chem Store. Along with an enhanced user experience, the new store is hosted by Amazon, which means that customers are able to buy our products with their existing Amazon account. What is more, they can also enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that they are dealing with an Amazon-approved company. Click on the logo above to check out the new site, or follow the new link on the main menu bar.

Green Expo 2011

On Thursday 10th November, we exhibited at the very first Green Expo organised by MetNet at Sixways Stadium, Worcester. Many thanks to those who came and visited us on our stand and to Patricia and Jane for organising the event. We are already looking forward to next year's exhibition!

Seaweed Making a Splash at Heligan Gardens

In 1900, the Heligan estate near St Austell in Cornwall boasted one of the finest botanical gardens in Britain. However, in August 1914, following the outbreak of the Great War, the area fell into ruin, only to be rediscovered decades later in a state of severe dilapidation. Since the mid-1990s, the former gardens have been painstakingly restored, and they are now one of Cornwall's most treasured tourist attractions.

Heligan's restorers have shown amazing attention to detail in reconstructing the site, utilizing the same horticultural techniques as those used during its Edwardian pomp. Amongst these, the widespread use of Cornish seaweeds as a soil amendment and plant feed is of particular interest. Workers at the 'Lost Gardens' have discovered how the various micronutrients and trace elements within seaweed lay the foundation for the garden's success in the nineteenth century; and how this organic solution continues to outperform any chemical fertilizer that has been developed since.

'The Lost Gardens of Heligan' recently featured in an excellent episode of the BBC's Natural World. The clip below shows the garden's staff collecting fresh seaweed for the project. Find out more at the Official Heligan Website.

Outstanding Bioremediation in Winter

Sea Power 101 was again able to prove its efficacy when it was utilized on a former industrial site in West Thurrock, Essex, under some extremely challenging conditions.

Formerly a scrapyard, the contaminated site was heavily laden with diesel and other fuels. Prior to treatment the TPH of the soil ranged between 8,000mg/kg and 10,000mg/kg. Bioremediation took place between November and December 2010, when the weather in the southeast of England was extremely cold (see graphs below). Soil from the site was mechanically screened and then sprayed directly with Sea Power 101. It was then left to degrade on vented biopiles for a period of eight weeks.

Soil samples were taken after the treatment period, and showed a new average TPH level of 775mg/kg (Range: 51mg/kg-1800mg/kg), which represented a reduction in overall human-health contamination of 91.4%. The site also passed the stringent leachate targets for the soil of 930μg/l, TPH. From seven leachate samples, the average contamination after eight weeks of treatment was 223μg/l (Range: <10 μg/l-460μg/l), less than 25% of what was required. Full detail of the results, are available here.

Given the exceptionally low temperatures during this period, our client had concerns about the level of microbial activity that could be expected at the site and about the effect that this might have on the speed and extent of the bioremediation. However, the results proved that even under these extremely testing conditions, Sea Power 101 dramatically enhanced the natural degradation process at the site.