The facility, which is located at the Southern Resource Park in Barrow, was opened last week (March 6) and will treat up to 75,000 tonnes of waste every year from households in Barrow, South Lakeland and Eden.
This is the second mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility Shanks has opened in Cumbria after it opened an identical plant in Hespin Wood, Carlisle in December 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story). The plants form the linchpin of a 25-year, 700 million waste disposal contract between Cumbria county council and Shanks Waste Management, which reached financial close in 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The council said the Hespin Wood facility is diverting around 85% of waste from landfill. Every year Shanks deals with around 180,000 tonnes of household waste from Cumbria county council, and with the new facility online, up to 150,000 tonnes of this can be processed via MBT.
The Barrow plant produces a solid recovered fuel (SRF) which can be used as a feedstock in energy-from-waste incinerators. Following its arrival at the facility, the waste is shredded to pieces sized between 20 and 30 centimetres and placed in an aerobic fermentation area where it is placed in contiguous windrows. Air is drawn through from a raised floor to help aid the biological breakdown of the waste. After 12 to 15 days in the area, the waste is transported to a recycling and recovery area where recyclables such as glass, metals and stones are extracted.
The running and management of the site will create up to 15 local jobs, in addition to the 50 which were created during the construction phase of the new facility.
Some waste, such as bulky non-recyclable items collected at household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs), will still go directly to landfill, however the council said the amount of waste sent directly to landfill will reduce from 150,000 tonnes to 30,000 tonnes as a result of the new facilities. A further 90,000 tonnes will still be recycled via kerbside collections of drop-off points.
Revolution
Paul Dilnot, chief executive of Shanks Group, said: We are delighted to have opened this state-of-the-art facility which completes a revolution in the way Cumbria deals with its household waste. We look forward to working with the authority and local residents to make more from Cumbrias waste by increasing recycling and creating renewable energy.
Councillor Norman Clarkson, chairman for the county council, added: It was a great honour to be asked to open this multi-million pound facility, which has opened on time and on budget. We are changing waste from being something that was previously just buried and disposed of, into a resource which has value and saves us using other fossil fuels. In short, we are giving waste a second life and being cleaner, greener and more cost-effective.
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