Planning permission for the facility was granted in November last year and the council hopes the site will open in 2022. It will handle both residual waste and recyclables.
With the county’s two current waste transfer stations at Whetstone and Loughborough operating at capacity, Leicestershire county council said the new site was “much needed” to add “capacity and resilience” to its network of facilities.
Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for waste disposal, said: “We are committed to doing our utmost to ensure that Leicestershire deals with its waste in the most environmentally friendly and efficient way possible, so I am delighted to see work begin on the new Bardon site, as it will give us both increased capacity and flexibility.
“This will be our biggest waste transfer site to date, although by no means the largest building on the Bardon Business Park, which makes it an ideal location for the facility.”
Leicestershire county council told letsrecycle.com that once waste left the transfer station it would be taken to “one of several end destinations”, believed to include the Coventry & Solihull Waste Disposal Company’s energy from waste plant for residual waste.
Transfer station
The new waste transfer station is being built on land at Interlink Way South, Bardon, by construction firm Willmott Dixon.
“This will be our biggest waste transfer site to date”
The county council says the development will include a warehouse style building and associated weighbridges, outside bays, office space and parking.
The site will have solar panels and an “energy efficient” office building, including sensor lighting and water saving taps and toilets. There will also be electric vehicle charging points at the premises.
The building and operations will comply with strict rules and regulations to ensure the facility has minimal impact on the business park and the surrounding area, the council says. Waste will only remain on site for a short period, usually less than 24 hours, before being taken to a treatment or disposal facility.
Leicestershire
Leicestershire county council is a waste disposal authority, so deals with all the waste collected at the kerbside by local district councils, along with that collected at its recycling and household waste sites.
Representing an estimated population of nearly 700,000, Leicestershire had a household waste recycling rate of 45.5% in the 2019/20 financial year.
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