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Agency chief visits O.C.O’s Avonmouth facility

The Environment Agency’s chief executive, Sir James Bevan, visited O.C.O Technology’s Avonmouth facility last week (17 August) to see the company’s technology first-hand. 

(l-r) Sir James Bevan, CEO of the Environment Agency and O.C.O’s Lee Thompson, health, safety, environment and quality manager

O.C.O’s technology uses carbon dioxide gas to treat a wide range of wastes, including air pollution control residues (APCr) from energy from waste (EfW) plants.

The company says: “This enables the permanent capture of significant amounts of CO2, turning APCr into the world’s first carbon negative artificial aggregate for use within the construction and civil engineering sectors.”

The product, an aggregate named M-LS after ‘manufactured limestone’, received the Agency’s ‘end of waste’ approval in 2011, meaning it is classed as non-waste and waste controls do not apply.

O.C.O is partners with EfW plants including Grundon Waste Management and Viridor’s Lakeside facility, as well as Biffa’s planned facilities with Indaver at Protos in Cheshire and Newhurst in Leicestershire.

Grundon is known to support O.C.O technology, having made a “significant investment” in the company.

O.C.O’s managing director, Steve Greig, hosted Sir James’s visit alongside fellow directors Clayton Sullivan-Webb – who is also Grundon’s managing director – and non-executive director Stephen Roscoe.

‘Innovative’

Speaking after the visit, Sir James said: “What O.C.O Technology delivers as a company is truly innovative: a technique of capturing carbon that turns hazardous waste into a non-hazardous resource in a process that is net carbon negative.

The Environment Agency’s end of waste approval is rare and well-deserved

  • Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency

“The Environment Agency’s end of waste approval is rare and well-deserved. I look forward to developing our relationship further to support the delivery of UK Net Zero targets.”

Mr Greig added: “We were very pleased to welcome Sir James and his EA sustainability team colleagues to Avonmouth.

“It was an opportunity for them to see first-hand how our innovative processes turn hazardous waste materials, which would otherwise have been sent to landfill, into an award-winning carbon negative aggregate, with the power to make significant CO2 savings versus more traditional building materials.

“We had a number of wide-ranging discussions on topics including the potential for using M-LS in future EA projects, O.C.O’s ongoing development plans and our trials of new materials.”

Process

The process at the Avonmouth firm turns residues from EfW plants into a “carbon-negative” aggregate.

O.C.O collects residues from EfW plants, transports them to three sites across the UK and turns them into manufactured limestone

From there, the carbonated APCr is conveyed into a second stage mixer, where fillers and binders are added before the blended material is delivered to the pelletiser.

Gaseous carbon dioxide is injected to accelerate the cementation process, forming a rounded aggregate which is then screened and stored.

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