Since 1963 Chemical Recoveries has been dedicated to the processing of waste liquids. We specialise in the Recycling of contaminated Industrial solvents and Oils and water.

The Company is licensed for recovery and transport for all these wastes. We collect and process from a 1litre can to the largest road vehicles at our Avonmouth, Bristol works. A complete recycling service is provided to over 1000 customers who have their solvents or oils recovered for their re-use. In addition 1000 companies use our facilities to dispose of their wastes using out treatment processes.

Selected solvents are recovered then re-blended and re-formulated - they are then ready for new users as an industrial paint and coatings cleaning fluid or an industrial paint thinners.

Oils are recovered, then blended, for use as an alternative fuel. Some solvents not suitable for recycling to a thinners/ cleaning grade are tested and blended as an alternative fuel.

We sell over £1.5 million of recovered solvents, oils and fuels each year.

 We undertake a wide range of services for customers and it is not a requirement that our site or transport have to process or undertake the work, recent projects include:

• Consultancy advice on a new Waste Transfer station in Eire which has now been authorised and is operational
• Helped to broker a major waste stream produced by a South Wales Chemical Company which reduced their waste bill by over £250,000 per annum - we treated part of the waste on our site and arranged for the remainder to be treated at a third party facility
• Provided a range of services to an Environmental Consultancy undertaking a multi million pound clear up of an abandoned waste transfer and treatment site
• We provide labels, consignment notes, tremcards for all our customers
• We provide VOC analysis and reports for customers who use our recovered solvents

 Chemical Recoveries work with their customers to provide a cost effective and environmentally appropriate solution by recycling unwanted solvents or oils. We are proud that we have worked with many of our customers for more than 30 years. We strongly believe that our service, quality, competitive prices and reliability are the basis of our success.

We provide two routes for industrial "waste" streams; recovery for customers’ re-use and/or recovery for re-use by other Industrial users.

Our highly trained sales team at our Avonmouth Office handles all enquiries. They firstly confirm whether we can dispose/ recover of a customers oils and solvents - if we cannot we will happily suggest an alternative.

We will process the enquiry and establish whether the material is to be recovered for re-use by the customer or for re-use by a new user. At the same time we will advise as to how the waste would be collected safely, legally transported to our site and which consignment notes would be issued. We can provide consignment notes and explain who should be notified and what information should be kept (Please note however that under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 it is the legal responsibility of the Waste Producer to ensure its waste is properly disposed of). We also supply packaging labels and transport advice to assist in meeting the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations.

Large consignments of contaminated solvents and oils for re-use are offered a total quality and segregated batch recovery service by Chemical Recoveries. The contaminated wastes are, in most cases, collected by one of our own vehicles (all drivers are Hazpack and ADR trained). They are then allocated recycling time in our recovery process - our recovery works at Avonmouth operates 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The material is recovered following our Quality system. The recycled product is tested to both our own and the customers specification and then returned, either in drums or by road tanker.

The Chemical Recoveries commitment and this document outlines the care and responsibility the Company takes in handling all waste from the producer to the final disposal/ recovery option selected.

Smaller consignments (typically 1 to 10 drums) for recovery are offered a recovery service too. The solvents are batched into minimum 30 tonne lots. They then follow the same system as for large consignments. Once recovered they must meet the same standards - once so they are approved for despatch and return on the next order. This is a "closed-loop" service.

Petroleum Spirit Licence, Transport Operators Licence

Waste Disposal Licence No L/BL/P/226/B - Environment Agency

Waste Carriers Registration no: AVN/026303

HMIP Authorisation for Prescribed Processes (Recovery by Distillation) - AN5772 - Env Agency

Technical Competence Certificates for key staff . Health and Safety Executive compliance for the storage of Highly Flammable Liquids

We are founder members of the Chemical Recovery Association and also the Oil Recycling Association and members of the Freight Transport Association.

Controlled by legislative restrictions and environmental accountability, waste solvents and oils are strictly limited in their disposal routes. The market use for recovered solvents has widened and grown considerably in the last decade. More material is reaching Recoverers and as Industrial users increasingly realise the improvement in the quality of recovered solvent and oils there is wider potential for use.

The substantial investment in our 3.33 acre Avonmouth recovery plant enables us to meet this growth and further improve our processes. In the last 3 years this totaled more than £500,000.

The cost of complying with the new Environmental regulations is ever increasing. New equipment is required to control emissions; training, monitoring, compliance and legal costs will all increase; permits, authorisations and possible contamination studies are now legal requirements. Increasing restrictions are further placed on specification and quality of recovered solvents and fuels. As new regulations continue to raise the cost of undertaking recovery business it is likely there will be fewer recovery companies in the longer term.

The consequence of all this is that our processing costs have risen considerably in the last years and thus the overall cost to the waste producers are increasing faster than inflation.

As the leading Recovery Company in the South West and with the resources of 30 years as a private company we are well placed to continue serving the market. Whatever the changes bring Chemical Recoveries will adapt to its customers and the markets needs.