The council-owned waste company was nudged into second place for the contract to process 150,000 tonnes of household waste by WRG's incinerator proposal last December (see letsrecycle.com story).
” With landfill very quickly running out in Norfolk there will be a definite need for residual waste treatment for householders and businesses. “
– Steve Jenkins, NEWS
However, the company has told letsrecycle.com it could still build its proposed mechanical biological treatment plant on land at Costessey. The plant would treat waste from households or, if municipal waste is not available, it could take in waste from local commerce and industry.
The development could also put NEWS in a strong position to win another residual treatment contract let by the county in future. The contract in which WRG is now preferred bidder is only a “phase one” residual waste contract, with a similarly-sized “phase two” contract to be offered later as Norfolk bids to meet its landfill targets further down the line.
NEWS contracts manager Steve Jenkins said: “Although we are not preferred bidders for the first part of the contract, it is in two parts and with landfill very quickly running out in Norfolk there will be a definite need for residual waste treatment for householders and businesses. If we got things moving soon, we could have it up and running by 2009.”
Research
Managers at the arms-length company of Norfolk county council say they have looked at MBT technology around the world and have come up with a combination of equipment from countries including Italy and Belgium, which they said will prove to be a very effective treatment for residual waste.
NEWS already operates two landfills and a modern materials recycling facility, which serves all local councils in Norfolk. Next to the MRF in Costessey there is space for extra waste treatment operations and planning permission for a residual waste treatment plant was granted in 2000 along with permission for the MRF.
Process
Mr Jenkins said of the MBT proposal: “It would involve sorting, recycling, screens, infra red technology, shredding and anaerobic digestion.
“Inert stones and broken glass would be turned into aggregates and the biodegradable material would go to an aerobic process outside afterwards. Obviously the regulations are still unclear about what can be done with the biodegradable material then,” he said.
The company believes the plant could ultimately meet the PAS 100 standard for compost for its output material. However, at the moment residues from the treatment of non-source segregated material through an MBT plant cannot be awarded PAS 100 certification. If it cannot be used as a compost, Mr Jenkins said the MBT residues may end up in landfill.
Register for free to comment