The company has submitted planning permission for a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant at the site of its Walpole landfill site near Bridgwater.
” We have done a lot of work to keep people fully informed of our plans for the site. “
– Dan Cooke, Viridor
The “state-of-the-art” plant would take in about 55,000 tonnes of mixed household waste each year and remove recyclable metals and plastic before remaining waste is put into sealed drums for anaerobic digestion.
This digestion will see microbial action treating organic waste with limited oxygen to generate a gas that can produce electricity and a solid organic fraction that can be composted.
Viridor believe that around 25,000 tonnes of the input waste that goes through the plant will be turned into compost every year. This will be used for land restoration on site and sold.
The company, which has developed a similar plant in South London, has said that so far public response to its Somerset proposal has been encouraging, and predicts that the new facility will be up and running during 2008.
“Interest”
Viridor spokesman Dan Cooke said: “We have done a lot of work to keep people fully informed of our plans for the site, including distributing hundreds of leaflets to people who live nearby.
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“We have appreciated the amount of interest that has been shown and have taken into account the views that have been put forward as part of our consultation,” he added.
As well as planning permission, Viridor will need to secure a licence from the Environment Agency for the new plant, and will be applying for this in the near future, the firm said.
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