Councillor Kevin Cluskey, chairperson of the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA), and Hugh Hoather, president of CIWM, are to unveil a £13 million Mechanical Biological Treatment plant in Huyton, Knowsley.
There is also a visitors' centre to accommodate council officers, businesses and members of the public who wish to see how it works.
The facility has been developed by the MWDA in partnership with Lancashire-based engineering company Orchid Environmental, who run the plant and developed the technology, and the Northwest Regional Development Agency, Envirolink Northwest and Defra.
MWDA director Carl Beer said: “This is a unique demonstration project and we're confident it will prove to be an invaluable part of the overall solution – and not just for Merseyside. The entire waste management industry is eagerly awaiting the results of the technology we're using.”
“Merseyside produces almost 700,000 tonnes of waste a year. We see this as a valuable resource and we want to recover some of the value from waste which hasn't been recycled at the kerbside,” he added.
Heat
It is the unique thinking behind the technology which could help Merseyside to tackle its waste mountain
Cllr Kevin Cluskey, MWDA
At the Huyton plant, household and commercial waste is treated using a combination of heat, air and moisture which cleans and sanitises mixed recyclables and turns organic matter such as paper and food waste into a range of renewable fuels.
These fuels are made to meet the precise end user specifications and are designed to replace fossil fuels in various industrial combustion processes.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, a spokeswoman for the MWDA explained that Orchid was currently finalising arrangements for where the fuel would be sent – pointing to the fact that much was burnt in plants such as cement kilns.
She said: “They have got quite a bit of interest from all over – partly because the plant is in the North West.”
Steve Whatmore, managing director of Orchid – which is the waste division of Fairport Engineering – said: “Orchid is proud to be associated with this showcase of its technologies and celebrates the dawn of a new era in waste recycling and recovery.”
Commissioning
The MWDA explained that the plant had gone through commissioning in the Spring (see letsrecycle.com story) and was now receiving daily deliveries of waste which came predominantly from Knowsley borough council, which runs an in-house waste collection service.
It is expected to help the Authority to divert waste from landfill in the period before it implements three new contracts which are currently out for tender, together worth £3 billion (see letsrecycle.com story).
Merseyside is now developing a succession strategy for what will happen to the plant after evaluation under the Demonstrator Programme ends in mid 2009.
Cllr Cluskey said: “We hope this facility will prove itself as a modern solution to waste management over the next few years. It is the unique thinking behind the technology which could help Merseyside to tackle its waste mountain.”
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