The company, currently up for sale with a price tag estimated to be around 500m (see letsrecycle.com story), is seeking planning permission for a 120,000-tonne annual capacity mechanical biological treatment facility at Vista Road, near Haydock.
” There is an urgent need for new waste management infrastructure across Merseyside in order to provide an alternative to landfill. “
– Chris Farmer, Cory Environmental
It has applied to St Helens council to build the plant, at the site alongside its existing Lyme and Wood landfill.
If it wins approval, the facility could be in place for 2009/10 and possibly play a part in an interim waste disposal contract now being advertised by Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority to cover the period between October 2008 and the point when Merseyside's major PFI contract is to begin.
Cory already takes municipal waste on behalf of the Authority at its two landfill sites – Lyme & Wood and Lea Green Road – under contracts running until September 2008.
Technology
The new MBT plant would use technology provided by US-owned specialists Bedminster International. The process would take in “black bag” household waste, removing plastics and textiles (anticipated to be about 15 – 20% of the input waste stream) and metals (4% of the waste stream) for recycling before the remainder is subjected to a composting process in aerated digestion tanks.
With about 20% of the material ending up as residue requiring landfill disposal, around 40% could be used as a soil improving compost according to Chris Farmer, Cory's development manager.
Mr Farmer explained to letsrecycle.com that after the black bags are initially split, the Bedminster process does not involve further shredding. “The more you shred material, the more difficult it is to separate out,” he said.
The plan for the plant is for Bedminster to build and operate the facility on behalf of Cory for a 25-year period. Bedminster, which is 50% owned by Chicago equity group Oyster Capital, says it operates 12 such MBT facilities in the USA and in the Far East.
Mr Farmer said the plant was being designed to take all the residual waste produced by the St Helens area, but would also be in a position to process waste from other councils in the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority area.
Assessment
An Environmental Impact Assessment has been prepared to go alongside the St Helens application, taking into account local views gathered in a recent seven-month consultation. Cory said the public is also able to examine the planning application at St Helens council, local libraries or through the company's website.
Mr Farmer said: “There is an urgent need for new waste management infrastructure across Merseyside in order to provide an alternative to landfill.
“Submission of this planning application demonstrates Cory’s and Bedminster’s commitment to developing sustainable solutions to manage waste that are designed to assist local authorities to meet stringent and increasing Government recycling targets. The Vista Road Recycling Facility is key in helping Merseyside to meet these challenging targets and in turn reducing the amount of waste going to landfill,” he added.
Visits
Meanwhile, Cory Environmental staff are seeing representatives of interested parties now visiting Cory sites with respect to the sale of the company by parent Montagu Private Equity.
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A handful of companies have been put through to a second round of bidding for Cory, and these are believed to include major waste management companies such as SITA UK, Viridor Waste Management (through its parent Pennon Group) and Spanish-owned FCC, owners of Waste Recycling Group. Private Equity groups are also said to be interested in Cory.
A spokesperson for Montagu declined to comment.
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