Planners in Cambridgeshire have given the green light to a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility to process up to 188,000 tonnes of waste a year.

Cambridgeshire county council yesterday approved a planning application by local waste firm Donarbon to build a facility to treat residual household rubbish.

However, the agreement is subject to a few final conditions, including a limit on the distance away from the plant from which waste can be brought in for treatment.

Proposed for a site at Donarbon's existing waste park at Waterbeach, the facility is intended to form an integral part of Donarbon's long-term PFI waste contract with Cambridgeshire, which is expected to be signed by June (see letsrecycle.com story).

With thousands of new homes being built in Cambridgeshire and the government proposing tough financial penalties over the use of landfill, the county council is hoping the new technology will help it to recycle as much of its material as possible.

Cambridgeshire County Councillor, John Reynolds, cabinet member for environment and community services, said: "It is vital that we plan properly the facilities needed to deal with the thousands of tonnes of rubbish produced in Cambridgeshire while balancing those facilities with the needs of the local community and environment."

"This new facility will put Cambridgeshire at the forefront in the region for managing waste," he commented.

Jim Edmeades, operations director at Donarbon waste management, added: "We are absolutely delighted. It brings us a step nearer to when we can start to move more away from landfill and process Cambridgeshire's waste in a more environmentally friendly way."

Materials
At the Donarbon waste park, the MBT plant will be built alongside an existing landfill site and windrow and in-vessel composting facility.

The new plant will sort out materials such as metals and plastics for recycling and compost the remaining faction to reduce its biodegradability over six weeks to produce grey compost. This could be used as a low-grade compost or deposited to landfill.

Mark Shelton, waste policy manager for Cambridgeshire county council, explained that Cambridgeshire considered the production of a compost material more environmentally friendly than the solid recovered fuel produced by some MBT processes.

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Cambridgeshire CC

Speaking to letsrecycle.com, he explained that planning permission for the MBT had been granted relatively quickly since the public consultation in January (see letsrecycle.com story) because there had been no public opposition, and Cambridgeshire was eager to have the facility up and running by 2009.

He said: "Donarbon has had a very good relationship with local residents and parish councils and there was no opposition at all. The council was also eager to have the MBT facility up and running to help meet targets for diverting waste from landfill as soon as possible."