Situated at the Bryn Pica former opencast colliery site around four miles from Aberdare, the AD plant has been developed under a 15-year partnership deal between Biogen and three councils – Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough, Newport city and Methyr Tydfil county borough.
Dubbed the Tomorrow’s Valley food waste hub, the facility will treat household-collected food waste collected from the three councils.
According to the Welsh Government, the facility will support the creation of four full time jobs and produce 1MW of renewable energy – enough to power 1,500 homes.
Work started on constructing the plant in June 2014 after Biogen was named the preferred bidder for the project in December 2012.
Previously, two of the councils sent their food waste for in-vessel composting (IVC) treatment in England, while another used a facility in South Wales. The councils estimate that AD plant will result in efficiency savings of around £2 million over the lifetime of the 15-year deal.
Visiting the newly-opened plant last week (October 1), NRW minister Carl Sargeant said: “Today, householders across Wales recycle 56% of their waste, resulting in Wales being the highest recycling nation within the United Kingdom and the fourth-highest recycling nation in the European Union.
“The Welsh Government is working with local authorities to help them towards achieving their recycling targets and this project is a great example of the effective use of collaboration and joint working between local authorities, the private sector and the Welsh Government.
“We know of course that these projects also bring with them economic benefits for the local area. Many jobs were created during construction of this site and four full time posts have been created to operate the plant.”
Biogen chief executive, Julian O’Neill, said: “The Bryn Pica AD plant is a fantastic investment for the area, both as a food waste treatment facility and as an educational resource for the community. We are delighted to announce that the plant is now fully operational and generating electricity.”
Conwy
Meanwhile, in North Wales, Conwy county borough council has awarded a green waste composting services contract to FCC Environment and Conwy-based SC Compost Ltd.
The deal will see green waste from the council’s household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) and its kerbside green garden waste collection service processed into PAS100 standard material.
The deal is for two years with the option of a further two year extension and is worth just under £350,000 per year excluding VAT, according to tender documents.
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