Ex-Herhof executives to open Berlin MBT plant

Waste Tec GmbH was formed from the ashes of Herhof-Umwelttechnik, which went into administration in 2005 after overstretching itself (see letsrecycle.com story).

The new MBT plant at Niedelehme, near Berlin

The company has picked up where Herhof left off in developing the 28 million plant at Niedelehme, near the German capital. Once fully operational the new mechanical biological treatment (MBT) will be capable of processing about 135,000 tonnes of municipal waste each year through physical separation techniques and composting.

The new plant at Berlin will be the 50th MBT plant in Germany, the company said, where a ban is in place on sending untreated municipal waste to landfill.

Waste Tec managing director Andreas Puchelt said German currently has a 2.1 million tonne deficit in processing capacity to meet the ban. This demand for treatment capacity meant his firm would focus on the German market, he said, but still had an eye on returning to the UK market.

Mr Puchelt, said: “Due to a distinctive demand of public customers from Germany, we are at the moment mainly focused on the German market.

“Nevertheless, we are very interested in offering our deep knowledge and experience in planning, erecting and commissioning MBTs to other markets, like the UK, where MBT has become a major topic in the discussion of waste treatment,” Mr Puchelt added.

Dresden
The completion of the plant at Niedelehme follows Waste Tec's successful upgrade of an MBT plant in Dresden, in east Germany, earlier this year.

The plant, originally built by Herhof in 2001, had its processing capacity increased by 25% to 105,000 tonnes per annum. The increase in capacity was achieved without expanding the size of the plant, the company said, by improving the ventilation system aerating material being treated.

A spokesman for the company said: “While the throughput of the mechanical separation machinery is limited by layout, the biological process can be operated with more flexibility. It can hide a considerable spare capacity.”

Herhof's inability to develop the Lancashire MBT plant saw the project being included within a larger Private Finance Initiative contract that looks likely to be run by Australian company Global Renewables (see letsrecycle.com story).