North Lincolnshire council has today (March 31) named a partnership between waste management firm Waste Recycling Group and cement manufacturer Cemex as preferred bidder for its 27-year residual waste treatment contract.
The contract which is believed to be worth between 200 million and 300 million and cover around 1.5 million tonnes of waste over the lifetime of the deal is set to see Waste Recycling Group (WRG) develop a 69,000 tonne-a-year capacity mechanical biological treatment facility in Scunthorpe.
Residual waste treated at the MBT facility will be turned into a solid recovered fuel known as Climafuel for use by Cemex at its cement works at South Ferriby, where it is set to be used as an alternative fuel for its cement kilns.
The choice of the WRG/Cemex partnership bid as preferred bidder means that it has been selected ahead of a consortium between waste management firm Biffa and lime manufacturer Singleton Birch (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting on todays announcement, John Coates, project director at North Lincolnshire council, said: I am pleased that in the current climate and problems with the procurement of similar waste contracts in other parts of the country, we now have a solution that is more sustainable by diverting local waste from landfill.
The contract is set to be officially awarded to the partnership in June following the satisfactory completion of normal procurement procedures. The MBT facility is planned to be operational in 2013/14.
Plant
WRG received planning permission to develop the MBT plant at the Normanby Enterprise Park in Scunthorpe in late 2010. The development will be known as the Waste Treatment and Recycling Facility.
Commenting on the proposal, John Plant, director of WRGs parent company FCC Projects, said: We are delighted to have been selected as the councils preferred bidder and look forward to working in partnership with the council and delivering a sustainable and value for money solution.
He added: The proposed Waste Treatment and Recycling Facility in Scunthorpe will offer a sustainable waste management solution for North Lincolnshires black bag waste, as well as provide a renewable fuel source for CEMEX.
This helps to reduce man-made carbon emissions, which are associated with damaging climate change.
MBT technology for the plant is set to be supplied by Dutch firm Waste Treatment Technologies B.V., with construction work to be carried out by civil engineering firm Clugston, which is based in Scunthorpe.
Climafuel
The announcement coincides with Cemex announcing that it has replaced 100% of fossil fuel used to heat its operations at the South Ferriby plant with fuel drawn from waste sources. The South Ferriby plant is 12 miles from WRGs proposed MBT in Scunthorpe.
The company, which has worldwide headquarters in Mexico, claimed the move makes it one of the first to implement such a change in the UK.
Alternative fuels used at the South Ferriby plant inclide secondary liquid fuels, which are made from industrial waste that cannot be recycled, and also Climafuel which is made from household and commercial waste streams.
The South Ferriby plant ran for three days on 100% waste-derived fuel input earlier this month, with the kiln remaining stable and producing a good quality cement clinker.
The volume of Climafuel input at the plant will be further enhanced under the residual waste treatment contract with North Lincolnshire. The Climafuel currently used at the South Ferriby plant is sourced from local suppliers.
Phillip Baynes-Clarke, Cemex plant director at South Ferriby, said: I am immensely proud that this record has been set using a kiln that was commissioned in 1973. It proves that with the right team, skills and capital, plants like ours in South Ferriby can have long and health shelf life and advance our manufacturing heritage.
The South Ferriby plant has nearly an 80 year history of providing cement and currently the works produce 800,000 tonnes of cement per annum.
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