Freedom Recycling Ltd announced today that Norfolk county council has approved plans to build the plant at Freedom Farm on Cowles Drove, to process 50,000 tonnes of waste a year.
” The planning process has at times been frustrating, but we were always confident. “
– Gary Lee, Freedom Recycling Ltd
Formed in 2004, the company will take a range household, commercial and industrial waste such as paper, cardboard, plastic and cans from March 2007.
Directors Gary Lee and Paul Boyle, who have worked in the waste management industry for waste firms including Viridor and WRG, will also accept waste electrical equipment at their facility. This will include TVs and fluorescent tubes, which will be the subject of new recycling regulations coming into force next year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Freedom Recycling hopes that the extra capacity for materials will help meet a shortfall in capacity of recycling plants that was identified in the East of England Waste Strategy.
Planning
The planning application, which was submitted in January, received considerable objection from local parish councils in the borough of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk due to fears that the facility would cause noise and increase HGV movements.
However, the director of planning and transportation at the council advised the planning committee that vehicle movements would not increase above the site's former use as a vegetable packing plant.
Freedom Recycling, which is based in Hockwold, near Thetford, also received support from the Environment Agency, Health and Safety Executive and Norfolk and Suffolk councils.
Speaking after the application was approved, Freedom Recycling's director, Gary Lee said: “The planning process has at times been frustrating, but we were always confident that the robust application made by our consultants, WISER, would demonstrate the significant technical merits and environmental benefits of the site to the members.”
Sorting
Under the plans for the MRF, waste would be sorted and processed at the three hectare using trommel screens, picking conveyor belts, balers, sorters and shredders. The company has also acquired a machine that crushes fluorescent tubes.
Charles Thomas of WISER, who advised Freedom Recycling Ltd about their planning application, said: “The directors have not decided on the technology but are going to initially invest 2.5 million in some state-of-the-art kit with the aim of targeting local authority kerbside collections.”
He added: “Now we are just waiting for the waste management license to be awarded by the Environment Agency.”
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