Under the contract, which could also include a three-year extension, New Earth will initially continue sending the borough's annual 70,000 tonnes of residual material to local landfills run by Biffa and Veolia.
 Bournemouth will be sending “significant” tonnages of mixed black bag waste to be treated at New Earth's plant in nearby Poole |
But from January, waste that is not recycled through Bournemouth's separate collection schemes will be sent to the new technology plant run by New Earth.
From April next year, “significant” amounts of the unitary borough's mixed “black bag” waste will be processed by the plant, which has a 50,000 tonne annual capacity. New Earth – owned by waste firm WH White plc – will also compost green waste collected at council recycling sites.
LATS
The council will decide how much waste it sends to the New Earth plant each year, depending on its obligations under Defra's Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). But of the material sent to the plant, the contract stipulates a minimum diversion rate of 70% will be achieved.
Roy Osborough, strategic waste manager for Bournemouth, explained: “It's a gradual process we will roll out over the next two years as the site increases capacity. We will probably be sending upwards of 5,000 tonnes a year to MBT to begin with, dependent on our requirements for LATS diversion.”
Independent tests carried out this summer at the Poole plant suggested diversion rates of over 80% were possible (see letsrecycle.com story). Bournemouth has now received advice from the Environment Agency on how the plant will contribute towards LATS targets.
Under LATS, Bournemouth must reduce its landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste from 59,708 tonnes in 2005/06 to 42,850 tonnes by 2010 and just 28,541 tonnes by 2013.
Mr Osborough said: “We are concentrating on reducing our dependence on landfill, which is primarily why we chose New Earth – it is a local company, six miles away, with state-of-the-art facilities and enormous potential for growth.”
MBT
New Earth's MBT process sees a combination of composting processes to break down biodegradable waste and physical separation to recover recyclable materials within a fully enclosed facility.
The plant uses German and Austrian technology including enclosed windrow units and air handling and treatment systems.
Peter Mills, New Earth's contracts director, said: “I am ecstatic that we have the contract finalised. Now we can get on and plan our service delivery – and can prove the technology for other local authorities.”
Mr Mills said his company was looking at using residue “grey compost” produced by the plant in land restoration projects and in soil blending.
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Bournemouth is currently achieving a 25% recycling rate, with expectations of achieving a 30% rate by the end of this financial year. Once the current New Earth contract comes to a close, the borough council will seek a 25-30-year contract for its waste disposal services.
Mr Osborough said: “We have a joint technology review at present over a long-term, 25-30 year contract, for which New Earth will be considered.”
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