The facility, called the Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park, will treat residual waste from households in the borough as well as commercial waste from local offices, shops and restaurants.
The council has a no mass burn policy meaning AmeyCespa, which is owned by Spanish multi-national Grupo Ferrovial, had to put forward other technologies to treat the waste. As a result, AmeyCespas work will involve three processes:
- Mechanical treatment technology by Stadler to extract recyclable materials from residual waste;
- An anaerobic digester operated by Celtic Bioenergy which will treat any food or organic waste to create renewable energy and a compost-like output for use on brownfield sites; and,
- An Energos advanced thermal treatment facility which will turn any remaining, unrecyclable waste into a gas, which is combusted to generate high temperature steam which then creates electricity in a turbine.
A planning application has been submitted for the facility in the Old Wolverton industrial area. The new facility will be developed adjacent to the citys famous materials recycling facility at Old Wolverton Milton Keynes pioneered the sorting of commingled materials. It is hoped the waste recovery park will be operational by 2016. AmeyCespa will then run the plant for 15 years.
The firm was selected as preferred bidder for the contract after rival FCC Environment pulled out at the dialogue stage (see letsrecycle.com story).
Milton Keynes council said the facility will bring a number of benefits including a 50 million saving over its lifetime, increased recycling levels and the creation of over 200 construction jobs and 45 operational ones.
Success
Commenting on the contract Councillor David Hopkins, Milton Keynes councils cabinet member for environment and waste, said: As Milton Keynes continues to grow, so does the amount of waste we produce. Building on the success we have achieved in recycling, we needed to find innovative, cost-saving solutions to deal with black sack waste, which Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park will deliver by recovering as much as possible for recycling and composting from our black sack waste and generating renewable energy with what remains.
Combining our ideas with AmeyCespas wealth of experience, we have worked closely together to come up with an excellent long-term, value for money solution and are delighted to now sign the contract, marking the beginning of a new chapter in Milton Keynes history of innovative waste management.
AmeyCespas project director Bill Jarvis said he was delighted to have reached this stage of the project. He adds: Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park will use an innovative combination of proven technologies to make the most of the boroughs waste, increasing recycling and helping the council to save on its waste management bill.
(The project architect is Race Cottam Associates who supplied the picture above.)
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