Examining a Flow Hive

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I don't think they are supposed to burn plastic here though,

Either be sealed up and sent to category 1 landfill or a proper incinerator I should think

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well, they must deal with plastic foundation already, I wouldn't think it was any different, surely?
I bet BDI wouldn't cover the cost of flow frames?

 

[Anduril]

No understandee - destroying them wouldn't need instructions from Australia. and I'm sure our SBI's are capable of doing that without damaging the frames unneccessarily

And as an aside - I very much doubt BDI would even consider a different compensation rate for floo fames

I was thinking along the lines of questions to the manufacturer, after all these frames are more intricate with their nooks and crannies. The type of plastic for cleaning, the frames being food grade, you would not want to contaminate the honey if any residue was left within the frames and robust handling by the RBI's. I can see the Flow frames being exempt from BDI.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I was thinking along the lines of questions to the manufacturer, after all these frames are more intricate with their nooks and crannies. The type of plastic for cleaning, the frames being food grade, you would not want to contaminate the honey if any residue was left within the frames and robust handling by the RBI's. I can see the Flow frames being exempt from BDI.

Exactly - they will just destroy rather than take the risk of contaminants remaining. The compensation will probably be the same as that for a standard wooden brood frame and foundation.

 

[For want of a better word]

Exactly - they will just destroy rather than take the risk of contaminants remaining. The compensation will probably be the same as that for a standard wooden brood frame and foundation.

Compensation... 50p ?

Nos da

 

[alldigging]

Jersey says:
https://www.gov.je/Industry/Farming...ck/AnimalDisease/Pages/AmericanFoulbrood.aspx

Care must be taken to ensure that plastic, rubber or other materials likely to produce noxious smoke are not included in the burning requirement. It is also not practical to scorch polystyrene and non-timber hives by fire and these should be disposed of in a way that ensures that the end point of disposal is at the Energy from Waste Unit at La Collette.

 

[Erichalfbee]

these should be disposed of in a way that ensures that the end point of disposal is at the Energy from Waste Unit at La Collette.

Either be sealed up and sent to category 1 landfill or a proper incinerator I should think

That's the answer then

 

[Into the lions den]

Cost me a FORTUNE disposing of all our plastic full frames and sheets of foundation when we got our EFB outbreak here. this is the same non boilable plastic.

If there is foulbrood there will be issues as this stuff deforms at heat.

We had to send ours to a licensed landfill site and they had to bag and bury, though they could have just buried if it had been done immediately upon arrival at the disposal site.

Burning is not especially safe in the open. Have been told (not researched by me) that there is a problem with dioxins if you do.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I don't think they are supposed to burn plastic here though, and not sure we have a gamma irradiation service available, or the cost if there is such.

There appears to be only one licensed commercial irradiation service in the UK, Synergy UK Ltd in Swindon - https://nucleus.iaea.org/fitf/FacilityDisplay.aspx?ID=88

There are lots more irradiation facilities but they all seem to be in academic or government organisations. For example Brunel, Manchester, Imperial, etc. universities have such kit as does the National Physics Laboratory but I doubt they'd be interested in irradiating a few Flow Frames!

CVB

 

[Into the lions den]

Important to concede though, that foulbroods of both kinds are relatively uncommon and the average hobbyist beekeeper will never see it in a lifetime.

 

[madasafish]

Important to concede though, that foulbroods of both kinds are relatively uncommon and the average hobbyist beekeeper will never see it in a lifetime.

I have - twice in two years:-(

 

[Anduril]

There appears to be only one licensed commercial irradiation service in the UK, Synergy UK Ltd in Swindon - https://nucleus.iaea.org/fitf/FacilityDisplay.aspx?ID=88

There are lots more irradiation facilities but they all seem to be in academic or government organisations. For example Brunel, Manchester, Imperial, etc. universities have such kit as does the National Physics Laboratory but I doubt they'd be interested in irradiating a few Flow Frames!

CVB

Would it be cost effective for the NBU to offer irradiation services, in the unlikely event of a foulbrood outbreak? If it was to offer the service, then to save the flow frames from landfill it may have to be a paid for service. Something for the UK Flow Group to consider to help protect their investment, by petitioning the NBU.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Would it be cost effective for the NBU to offer irradiation services, in the unlikely event of a foulbrood outbreak?

Highly unlikely to be anywhere near cost effective - would cost hundreds of thousands to set something like that up and a total waste of taxpayer's money IMHO

 

[Anduril]

Highly unlikely to be anywhere near cost effective - would cost hundreds of thousands to set something like that up and a total waste of taxpayer's money IMHO

Then it may have to be sub-contracted out. Doors close others open. Just playing Devil's Advocate.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Would it be cost effective for the NBU to offer irradiation services, in the unlikely event of a foulbrood outbreak? If it was to offer the service, then to save the flow frames from landfill it may have to be a paid for service. Something for the UK Flow Group to consider to help protect their investment, by petitioning the NBU.

Why should the NBU to make the flow frames a special case, when contaminated plastic frames can already be sent to either licensed landfill or for incineration?

Just playing Devil's Advocate

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Then it may have to be sub-contracted out. Doors close others open. Just playing Devil's Advocate.

No need for sub contracting anything - beekeepers gets a choice of finding a cat1 site to take the frames or get's them irradiated at an approved establishment - their money - their choice.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Highly unlikely to be anywhere near cost effective - would cost hundreds of thousands to set something like that up and a total waste of taxpayer's money IMHO

There's a company in Australia called Steritech, with 3 licensed irradiation sites and they do work on beehives incidental to medical, agricultural, quarantine, pharmaceuticals, etc. applications. Their website says "Steritech irradiates beehives in order to eliminate the American Foulbrood and European Foulbrood diseases. Until Steritech offered this service any hive affected by these diseases had to be destroyed at a significant cost to the beekeeper. Now, there is a simple and cost effective method for eliminating the disease and even improve yield with the added benefit of being able to re-use the hive."

Now I'm not saying we should send our kit to Australia to be irradiated but how come Oz, with a population of 25 million has 3 facilities and the UK with a population of 60 million has one. Maybe our government and agencies don't take biosecurity as seriously as the Aussis do! They even use irradiation to sterilise archive material (documents, drawings, etc.) so that moulds etc., that could discolour the documents, are zapped; thus the archives last longer - I have not heard of that happening in the UK.

CVB

 

[Anduril]

Why should the NBU to make the flow frames a special case, when contaminated plastic frames can already be sent to either licensed landfill or for incineration?

Just playing Devil's Advocate

Not a special case, the world moves on, new innovations come and go and attitudes change.
I shall now take off my rose tinted glasses and scare myself.

 

[Karol]

There's a company in Australia called Steritech, with 3 licensed irradiation sites and they do work on beehives incidental to medical, agricultural, quarantine, pharmaceuticals, etc. applications. Their website says "Steritech irradiates beehives in order to eliminate the American Foulbrood and European Foulbrood diseases. Until Steritech offered this service any hive affected by these diseases had to be destroyed at a significant cost to the beekeeper. Now, there is a simple and cost effective method for eliminating the disease and even improve yield with the added benefit of being able to re-use the hive."

Now I'm not saying we should send our kit to Australia to be irradiated but how come Oz, with a population of 25 million has 3 facilities and the UK with a population of 60 million has one. Maybe our government and agencies don't take biosecurity as seriously as the Aussis do! They even use irradiation to sterilise archive material (documents, drawings, etc.) so that moulds etc., that could discolour the documents, are zapped; thus the archives last longer - I have not heard of that happening in the UK.

CVB

I wonder how they've validated the sterilization process. Haven't looked but are foul broods spore formers?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Haven't looked but are foul broods spore formers?

AFB (American foul brood) is, yes.