TotalWM are the only scrap metal company in the UK that has the ability, with its specialised processing equipment to recover metal screw top lids (from items such as wine bottles, sauce bottles and bottle beer caps).

The material is normally sent to TotalWM from the various glass re-processors operating throughout the UK. These recycling companies can recycle the glass element of the item but not the metal lid as this is often deemed by the re-processors as a ‘contaminant’. Given that every metal screw lid opened in the UK ends up at the TotalWM Facility in Basildon the tonnage is quite significant.

However, it’s not just metal screw lids that have found their way into this waste stream… other items found in the material stream include watches (including the designer-type ‘Rolex’ watches), engagement and wedding rings, bracelets, and military medals, all of which have often been mistakenly consigned to local kerbside recycling streams. The one thing that makes medals different however is that they often contain some form of inscription on them in the form of a military service number or similar.

TotalWM's Head of Purchasing & Transport, Tom Sloane, is himself an ex-service personnel and two years ago he started to notice the appearance of military medals popping up in this waste stream and took it upon himself to repatriate (wherever possible) any military medals coming through the yard with their rightful owners or next of kin.

Before beginning the slow and somewhat arduous task of finding the rightful owner of the medal, Tom uses his spare time away from work to clean and polish the medals with the same dedication and precision that he used when he was himself attached to 42 Commando Royal Marines and 3rd Parachute Regiment. By the time he’s finished, most look like new again (given that most of the medals recovered from this waste stream are often in some element of disrepair, damaged or bent and are beginning to corrode as the metal reacts with the air). At this stage any inscription on the medal can usually be identified (unless it’s too worn to be deciphered) and Tom starts his research, firstly by attempting to identify the regiment of the owner of the medal and then by contacting the regiment in question or the HQ of the particular Service (Royal Navy, Army, Air Force etc) to which the medal relates to. Military records are then consulted, and a name and last known location is provided.

Every individual or extended family member that has had their medal or their loved one’s medal returned to them clearly has some form of an emotional attachment to it and many are often overwhelmed to see that little bit of metal drop through their letter box. In the instances where the individual or extended family cannot be located the medal is returned to the Regiment HQ for safe keeping.

Every medal has a story and Tom has a few to tell!

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