A 250,000 tonne MBT plant which was granted planning permission in Essex last week will put a “lid on Essex's recycling”, according to environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
However, waste management firm Cory Environmental, which will be operating the facility, has said it will play a key role in achieving the sustainable waste management targets for the county.
This new MBT will put a lid on Essex's recycling. Where is the waste going to come from? It is going to have to be sourced from elsewhere.
Paula Whitney, Friends of the Earth
The mechanical biological treatment plant being developed at Stanway Hall Quarry in south west Colchester (see letsrecycle.com story) will be operated by Cory for 25 years, after which the site will be used as a landfill for 12 years.
The application from Cory was accepted by Essex county council with the condition that the waste for the MBT would be sourced only from Essex.
However, with two larger MBT plants also in the pipeline for Essex, campaigners and opposition councillors are concerned that the county does not produce enough waste to supply all the proposed facilities.
Planning permission has already been granted to Gent Fairhead and Company Ltd for a 510,000 tonne a year MBT plant at Rivenhall Airfield, in Rivenhall, near Witham. The county council has also submitted a planning application for another MBT plant to process 500,000 tonnes a year in Basildon, which is expected to go through in December.
Over provision
Paula Whitney, Colchester Friends of the Earth chairwoman, said: “Essex has a 36% recycling rate and landfilled less than 400,000 tonnes of waste last year. The leader of Essex county council, Lord Hanningfield, has said that Essex should aim for 60% recycling and if this happens Essex will be producing just 280,0000 tonnes of residual waste a year.
“At the same time this long term contract has been signed, undermining recycling and waste minimisation efforts in the area. This new MBT will put a lid on Essex's recycling. Where is the waste going to come from? It is going to have to be sourced from elsewhere,” she added.
In response to friends of the Earth's fears about the plant's capacity, a spokeswoman for Cory Environmental told letsrecycle.com: “We can't comment on the other sites, but as far as we are concerned, we have the capacity for the Stanway site – it is in the Waste Local Plan.”
Gridlock
Stanway Liberal Democrat Cllr Lesley Scott-Boutell also raised the issue of the extra traffic the plant will create.
She said: “Once the MBT plant is built, even more trucks are going to be passing through Stanway village along a road which is windy and narrow and already has traffic problems. We worked it out that there would be a lorry going through the village every two minutes.”
As part of the contract with Essex, Cory Environmental will also be constructing a 50,000 tonne capacity anaerobic plant for garden and kitchen waste, using the biogas from the compost to power the site.
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