The Lancashire Waste Partnership got the go-ahead last November for the UK's largest ever Private Finance Initiative waste contract worth 110 million. Partners Lancashire county council, Blackpool borough council and Blackburn with Darwen borough council are relying on MBT to reduce the area's annual 900,000 tonnes waste by 80%.
”This MBT plant is in some ways a bigger task for us than the longer term contract“
– Steve Browne, Lancashire county council
Herhof is the preferred bidder to build the first plant, which will be funded by the partnership without PFI and act as a trial run. If successful, three more MBT facilities will be built with help from the PFI contract.
A spokesman for Lancashire county council confirmed: “We are in the final stages of the procurement process for an MBT plant to be situated at the Leyland Waste Technology Park. The exact details of the operation and size of the plant are subject to detailed discussion with the preferred bidder, Herhof Environmental (UK) Ltd.”
Critical
Steve Browne, planning services manager for Lancashire county council, revealed: “MBT is a critical area for us – this MBT plant is in some ways a bigger task for us than the longer term contract.”
MBT works by taking in mixed household or residual waste, drying it and separating out recyclable materials. The end product is usually used either as a fuel to be burnt or a low-grade 'c;ompost' which can be used to restore landfills.
Incineration is likely to be the destination for material produced by Lancashire's MBT plants. Herhof, which has several MBT plants on the continent, is known for producing refuse derived fuel (RDF). The local authority partners' original plan to lay the material in wooded areas was scuppered by legal restrictions on where MBT material can be spread.
Mr Browne explained: “Lancashire has low woodland cover and our intention was to use the material in tree planting sites and forests but this was found to be illegal, and can only be done under an exemption.” He added: “Missing from the national strategy is the idea you can create a high standard of soil conditioner with a low metal content.”
Biowaste
”MBT may play an important role as a complementary treatment option“
– European Commission
This may soon change according to last week's European Commission draft discussion document on Biowaste, which appeared to favour MBT for mixed or residual waste.
The Commission said: “MBT may play an important role as a complementary treatment option along the lines of the provisions of the Landfill Directive, which requires a pre-treatment of the waste to be landfilled to achieve further reduction of its biodegradability.”
And it added: “It would be important to define conditions for the MBT process and rules relative to the use of MBT residues. The objectives could be to clearly distinguish MBT residues from high-quality compost.”
The Lancashire plant is expected to be operating by March 2005. Lancashire has not yet found an incinerator or combined heat and power plant to take the material at an attractive price, but discussions are thought to be taking place with industrial owners of power plants which could take in the fuel.
Herhof is owned by Treasury Holdings Ltd and Lancashire will be its first site in the UK.
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