Green light for 20m Flintshire MHT plant

And, the firm now hopes to build up to six similar facilities, across the UK and Ireland, within the next two years.

Speaking after the decision to give the go-ahead for the £20 million development to be built on the site a former steelworks at Shotton, Orchid's managing director, Steve Whatmore, said: “These are exciting times for Orchid.

“We are delighted to have been given planning permission for such a development that significantly reduces the amount of waste in Flintshire going to landfill,” he added.

The company, which opened a £13 million mechanical heat treatment (MHT) plant at Huyton on Merseyside as part of Defra's New Technologies Demonstrator Programme in June 2008 (see letsrecycle.com story), expects to process 62,000 tonnes of biodegradable waste at the Deeside facility.

And, it also plans to recover 32,000 tonnes of recyclables such as metals, plastics and glass using MHT, which uses heat to seperate and segregate recyclables and refine waste to produce a fuel.

A spokesman for Flintshire county council told letsrecycle.com that the focus of the plant is to be commercial and industrial waste but “it is capable of dealing with municipal waste, although there are currently no contracts in place”.

Boost

Mr Whatmore said the facility would benefit the local area, claiming that: “Our scheme provides an economic boost for Flintshire, creating local jobs for local people.

“We are pleased to have the support of Flintshire county council which has set a great example in ensuring that there is future capacity to handle waste and reduce reliance on landfill,” he added.

With Flintshire having no landfill sites at present, Mr Whatmore claimed that the facility would offer a “sustainable, local alternative” to transporting waste outside the county for disposal.

Following the approval of the plans for the Shotton plant, the firm also revealed plans to develop “up to six” similar projects in the UK and Ireland over the next two years.

The boost for Orchid's Flintshire plans comes just weeks after its Huyton facility was hit by a fire (see letsrecycle.com story), causing its temporary closure.