The trial is encouraging up to 280,000 UK households to use compost bins for rubbish disposal in order to help reduce levels of green and kitchen waste going into landfill sites and meet the Government’s new Landfill Directive targets. The pilot scheme covers 24 councils from both rural and urban areas across England and Scotland, with around 4,000 orders each day expected at peak times.

Exel is acting as the sole contact point for the implementation of the scheme, managing a 24/7 call centre that receives, processes and schedules all consumer orders and payments, and works with suppliers around the world to source the bins which are then stored and delivered to UK households.

Exel is using transport scheduling systems and bespoke databases to match supply and demand and plan the most efficient routes and deliveries. The company will also provide full reports to WRAP on the take-up of the scheme in each area and provide details of delivery performance.

The scale of the operation demands a wide network of distribution depots and Exel has drawn in a number of its existing operating sites. A variety of suppliers deliver nine types of bins, all requiring different handling, to Exel’s 60,000 sq ft NDC in Leigh, outside Manchester, for sortation and onward transportation to nine outbases in England and Scotland. The Exel fleet includes 65 long-wheel based transit vans, ensuring access in residential areas, as well as 40ft vehicles for trunking purposes.

Gary Hilder, Head of the Home Composting Project at WRAP, said, “We needed to work with a supply chain expert who could manage the complex scope of this project and establish one point of contact for WRAP and consumers, instead of managing multiple suppliers around the world. Nearly a third of what we throw away could go into a compost bin, so we are aiming to make it easier for UK households and the Government to meet environmental legislation. The objective of the pilot is to establish which type of bins are best suited to which situations; and to measure how much waste is diverted. We are planning to provide 1.5 million households with compost bins by 2007.”

In other news, Exel and Lufthansa are working in partnership to transport 21 German cars to Shanghai for the first-ever exhibition race – the German Touring Car Masters – on July 18th. Exel signed a contract to handle the logistics of the DTM event in China with the Shanghai organisers, Brilliant Culture Group (BCG).

Lufthansa Cargo Charter will manage airfreight operations. The logistics teams have only 20 days to manage the entire freight and logistics process including customs formalities. The 480-horsepower racing cars made by Audi, Mercedes and Opel were loaded in containers and airfreighted by charter from Frankfurt to Shanghai on July 9th. A fuel container and a consol container with tyres and other equipment have already been shipped to Shanghai by sea.

“Our 19 years of experience, knowledge of China’s customs and procedures, including comprehensive consulting strategy were instrumental in BCG’s decision to choose Exel,” said Roland Chong, Exel’s Director in China