Suspension of deliveries to Plevin plant continues

R Plevin & Sons 5 million waste wood processing plant in Hazlehead, Yorkshire, will not be taking any more wood onto site for the foreseeable future until current tonnages have been reduced considerably, the company confirmed yesterday (July 3).

It follows two fires at the site in just over a month, the most recent of which on June 2 caused fire water run-off, which is thought to have killed around 20 fish in nearby waterways.

South Yorkshire Police and the Health & Safety Executive are also currently investigating a separate incident at the site on Monday afternoon (June 30), which led to the death of a 48-year-old male worker (see letsrecycle.com story).

As a result of the fires, the Agency issued an enforcement notice against Plevin last month (see letsrecycle.com story) to stop the firm being able to take in wood at the plant, which is currently going through testing stages in preparation to begin processing fuel for E.ONs Blackburn Meadows biomass plant near Sheffield.

The Environment Agency and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue are also currently investigating the cause of the fires to determine whether here have been any breaches of environmental permitting rules or specific conditions of Plevins license.

Plevin said it has since been working with the Agency to redevelop its operating procedures to improve the management of the wood piles and reduce the risk of any future fires.

Once fully operational, the firm said, the number and size of wood piles at the 50-acre site will be reduced, while a minimal volume of processed biomass will be stored on site with the majority transported directly to the Blackburn Meadows facility as soon as it is manufactured.

Plevin said that it is now also monitoring wood stacks at regular intervals to record temperature and hot spots so that any areas of concern will be dealt with immediately.

Odour

Regarding drainage, the company said: we did experience problems with run-off water during the fire which posed a threat to the local environment. Drainage on site has been completely reviewed and we will be making ongoing improvements to the current set up.

Run-off water is now being directed towards and contained within the companys storage lagoons on Wham Road before being tankered away for disposal.

In addition, Plevin is considering dredging the lagoons in future to increase their capacity, a project that it said also brought the possibility of odours being generated.

Plevin added: We will ensure that residents living in the immediate area are forewarned as to when this is due to take place by leaflet drop.

E.ON

In May, the company said that the Hazlehead plant, which will have the capability to process up to 80 tonnes of wood per hour, was set to open in the coming weeks (see letsrecycle.com story).

Described as UKs largest waste wood recovery centre, the Hazlehead facility at Crow Edge has been developed to supply recovered wood chip fuel for energy producer E.ONs 120 million, 30MW biomass energy plant at Blackburn Meadows, which is set to open later this summer.

Plevin signed a 25-year deal with E.ON in 2011, which made it the sole supplier of waste wood feedstock for the Blackburn Meadows biomass facility (see letsrecycle.com story).

Despite the issues at the Plevin plant, however, an E.ON spokeswoman declined to comment on how fuel would be provided for the Blackburn Meadows facility in the absence of more material coming in for processing into biomass fuel at the Plevin site.

But, the spokeswoman said the Blackburn Meadows project is on schedule, adding that any other relevant information will be provided as and when is appropriate.