Work starts on Wiltshires first MBT plant

A breaking-ground ceremony took place at the Northacre Trading Estate in Westbury last week (July 25).

Oncecomplete in 2013, the state-of-the-art resource recovery facility will process 60,000 tonnes of residual household waste a year from the West of Wiltshire under a 25-year contract agreed between Hills and Wiltshire council in May 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story).

MBT specialist Ensorga Italia is providing technology for the plant and Interserve plc has been awarded the design and build construction contract.

The MBT process will see waste decompose at an accelerated rate over 14 days inside a sealed building and under negative air pressure to minimise odour. As the waste dries, it is expected to lose over 30 per cent of its original weight. It will then be processed to remove metals for recycling and the remaining material produced into a refuse-derived fuel (RDF).

For every 60,000 tonnes of waste the MBT plant processes, it will produce 28,200 tonnes of RDF and recover 1,800 tonnes of metals. A further10,000 tonnes of residue will be produced and sent to landfill.

Initially, the RDF produced will be transported by road to port then shipped to Europe to be used to generate energy, but Hills is hopeful of securing a domestic market in the longer term.

Alan Pardoe, Hills group chairman, said: Im delighted that construction is starting on the Hills Northacre facility. This is a significant milestone in both the companys development and the way Wiltshire handles its household waste.

In the coming months well see innovative technology installed on the site by our contractors which will open up new markets for our company.

Landfill diversion

The Hills facility is expected to save significant council lorry miles as waste from the West of Wilshire will no longer need to be transported to Hills landfill site at Lower Compton, where it is sent at present.

The plant is expected to help increase the proportion of Wiltshires municipal waste diverted away from landfill to more than 80%, from a current performance of about 63% and a total of less than 20% a few years ago. Around 50,000 tonnes a year of Wiltshires waste is already being diverted from landfill to the Lakeside energy from waste plant run by Grundon and Viridor at Colnbrook, near Slough. Wiltshires recycling and composting rate for 2010/11 was 41%.

Toby Sturgis, Wiltshire councils cabinet member for waste, property and development control services, said: This is one part of a package of measures Wiltshire Council is rolling out that will hugely reduce what we send to landfill.

These measures, of which the construction of the Northacre facility is a major part, not only make environmental sense but financial sense for residents.

Marlborough-based Hills Waste Solution first mooted the possibility of developing a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant in 2005 and received planning permission from Wiltshire council in March 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Hills currently handles all the residual waste for Wiltshire and also has a contract to run the 11 household waste recycling centres in the county as well as collect recyclables at the kerbside in some parts of the county.