The centre, valued at around 3 million aspires to recover up to 50% of rubbish away form local landfill sites, though will in itself contain a landfill site within 400-acre premises. However, advanced composting facilities, which include the processing of household, green waste and shortly, collected from nearby Chatterise, treatment of its bio-waste, Donarbons hopes to drive towards converting local waste into recycled material or compost. And according to Donarbon’s planning manager, Sarah Clover, this goes someway towards meeting government targets to move waste away form landfills.
The construction of two segregation drums will assist with composting. The first drum converts mixed household waste into pulp, whilst filtering out metal objects with a magnet so they can be recycled. The pulp is then composted and used for restoring the site; the rest of the waste will be landfilled and will process up to 120,000 tonnes per annum.
The second drum will be used for source separated organic waste, derived from kerbside collections such as paper and green waste; this will be made into quality compost and sold.
“As the process is enclosed, the waste is treated without producing smell; any air which is released is also treated. But it’s not located near any residential areas – being on the outskirts of Cambridge, it’s quite isolated anyway,” said Ms Clover.
The centre will officially be opened next Monday by Coun Johnstone, cabinet member of the county council’s Environment and Transport Committee as well as representatives from local district councils and the community and will soon contain a nature area developed on wetland.
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