Selby-based company Mytum & Selby Waste Recycling announced this week that it is turning the site near Selby – which has the “ideal” infrastructure for in-vessel composting – into a 17-acre state-of-the-art facility.
The plant, known as the Maltings near the town of South Milford, will be able to store and process 32,000 tonnes of organic waste at a time using existing bunkers, silos and in-vessel units that are designed for grain in the brewing industry.
The site already has planning permission for industrial use and was approved to take waste by the Environment Agency in July last year.
Mytum & Selby – which currently takes material from Selby District Council at its MRF in Selby – has started developing the new plant. It hopes to conduct composting trials later this year and will start commercial operations from April 2007.
The company hope to serve the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber, with up to 30 million further investment from Interceptor Marketing Corporation in Bermuda.
Hull University's Environmental Technology's Centre of Industrial Collaboration is providing the family-based business with advice and technical support.
John Adams, a composting microbiology research associate at the university, told letsrecycle.com: “We were amazed when we saw the site how relevant it was to composting. It has massive storage potential with 60 or 70 grain storage bunkers, silos and ovens that can be converted for composting. This means that compost can be matured for a longer period of time – creating a higher quality product, like a fine wine.”
Mr Adams explained that the brewery even has in-vessel units. He said: “They are quite unique to this site and engineered really well. They can be vented, heated and turned so there's no reason why they can't be used for in-vessel composting. ”
Local
Dr David Calvert, commercial manager for ETCIC, said the project would be very beneficial to the local community.
He said: “The site's ideal location will enable us to provide local businesses with a solution to their waste management needs, cheaper recycling opportunities and the advantage of trading at a more competitive and greener level. This in turn will provide increased employment levels and sustain the industrial sector. In fact, once the site is at full capacity over 200 jobs could be created between both depots.”
Dr Calvert added: “The government has set out recycling targets for each county to reach by 2015 and this has put pressure on district and parish councils, as they will incur large penalties for targets that are not reached. The Maltings site will reach these recycling targets overnight and help put us at the very forefront of waste recycling for providing a greener, cleaner society.”
The project has received backing from the Environment Agency, Recycling Action Yorkshire, Yorkshire Forward and Selby District Council.
Steven Carrie, managing director at Mytum & Selby Recycling said: “Once the centre is up and running we will be able to store and process some 32,000 tonnes of organic waste at any one time so it will make a real environmental difference. We're delighted to have the support of ETCIC for this project, which will benefit hugely from our knowledge transfer partnership that brings together the skills and experience of both industry and academia.”
Biofuel
Additionally, part of the site, to be developed in 2007, will create biofuel from “tannelised” or varnished timber. By burning the varnish off, Mytum and Selby Waste Recycling hopes to create a biofuel that can be used in the steel industry.
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