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Amey’s Milton Keynes waste plant continues to take shape

Amey has made progress with the construction of its Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park, with the focus now on installing technology to sort and recycle waste from households, the contractor has announced.

Ariel image of the Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park

Over 1,300 metres of conveyor belts, along with separating machinery are being put in place to sift through residual waste from Milton Keynes council and to separate out recyclable items at the 132,000 tonnes-per-year capacity plant.

The mechanical treatment technology will also separate food and other biodegradable material from the black sacks for transfer to an onsite anaerobic digestion (AD) facility. The AD technology will produce heat to use on the site and power which will go to the National Grid.

Any remaining waste will go through to an advanced thermal treatment process, which will in turn create energy.

Together, the technologies are designed to increase the amount of recyclable materials which are removed from the waste and divert 95% of the waste from landfill produced by residents.

Amey’s project manager, Peter Waller, said: “Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park is really coming together. The installation of the conveyor belts and mechanical treatment technology – which will be able to handle between 120,000 and 132,000 tonnes of waste each year – is a major milestone”.

Contract

Construction of the site comes after AmeyCespa signed a contract with Milton Keynes council in 2013 to design, build and operate the waste treatment facility, which it will run for 15 years (see letsrecycle.com story).

AmeyCespa continues to make progress with the project and announced earlier this year the completion of the tallest section of the park – a 55 metre high steel stack for the site’s Advanced Thermal Treatment plant (see letsrecycle.com story).

Completion

The new facility is due to be completed in the new year, after which it will go through commissioning and rigorous testing periods before it is fully operational in September 2016.

Councillor Mick Legg, the council’s cabinet member responsible for environment and waste said: “The progress on the Milton Keynes Waste Recovery Park is clear to see and we’re pleased with the steps Amey has taken to recruit locally, creating over 40 full-time jobs in Milton Keynes.

“The inward investment and the employment opportunities created by the facility fit with the council’s priorities and outcomes within our Corporate Plan”.

In addition to the installation of the mechanical treatment technology, work is taking place to construct weighbridges, which will be used by vehicles entering and leaving the site in order to monitor waste coming through the park.

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