Mid UK Recycling, which runs a materials recycling facility in Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, has announced that it is to build a generator capable of taking 25,000 tonnes of waste wood a year.
For us this seems like the most sound way of recycling the material
Chris Mountain, Mid UK Recycling
The company already processes material for North Kesteven council, which came top of the recycling league table last year with a recycling rate of 51.5% (see letsrecycle.com story).
The new biomass plant is being built in partnership with Yorkshire technology firm Bioflame, under the new name of PBM Power Ltd.
Planned for the 15 acre Caythorpe site, the generator has received planning permission from South Kesteven council and will produce 2.5 MWs of renewable energy a year for the National Grid.
Mid UK's managing director Chris Mountain said: “We have got planning permission for the facility and we are in production. The building is already built and the plant is already being manufactured and we expect to be operational by around March 2008.”
Waste
At the Caythorpe site, Mid UK Recycling currently recycles glass, plasterboard, compost, paper, card, plastic and construction and demolition waste. It is also one of the only sites to be accept glass in with other mixed dry recyclables.
However, Mr Mountain explained that waste wood was difficult to market in the East Midlands as there are no local chipboard factories to take woodchip.
Furthermore, there is no market much of the lower grade material which the company handles, such as timber framed windows, old desk and kitchen tops, and branches from composting.
He said: “We generate an awful lot of waste wood and it the lower grade material is a real problem for us – particularly MDF and chipboard which would otherwise go to landfill. There is also strong demand from customers to process construction and demolition waste in an environmentally friendly way.”
The biomass plant will be compliant with the Waste Incineration Directive (WID), which places strict emissions controls on the burning of waste, and contain emission filtration systems.
It will process wood from council civic amenity sites, packaging firms, construction and demolition and commercial and industrial sources.
Mr Mountain said; “For us this seems like the most sound way of recycling the material.”
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