Aggregates firm Smith and Sons (Bletchington) plans to build the plant to process up to 50,000 tonnes a year of construction waste on its newly-acquired Worsham Quarry site.
Martin Layer, planning and estates manager for the company, said: “Recycling is at the heart of sustainable construction and quarrying and this new facility will allow Smiths to double its recycling capacity in the county.”
 The Worsham Quarry, which will soon be home to a new building waste plant |
The quarry company is already recycling highway construction waste from Oxfordshire county council into new construction materials, and now hopes to benefit from the council's policy to increase the use of secondary aggregates in the county.
“Recycling construction materials and quarry products is vital to sustainability in Oxfordshire and the county council has set a target of delivering 10% of its aggregate requirement from secondary sources,” said Mr Layer.
The 8-hectare site, which Smiths bought Taylor's Transport, has been a limestone quarry for 60 years and has planning permission until 2021 for quarrying, inert landfill and recycling. Recycling activities have already begun on the site using mobile plant machinery and the company plans to make further investment in screening and sorting equipment.
The new facility will recycle construction waste into hardcore and other construction materials. Alongside the recycling, there will be some quarrying activities at Worsham but since there is limited limestone left, this will not be extensive.
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