The plant, based near Carlisle, is expected to take 680,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste over the next five years. It will include a unique material washing process for the waste and involves an environmentally sensitive approach to recycling to recover 100% of the waste material including the maximum possible amounts of high value aggregate. The main source of waste material for the plant will be former railway ballast.
 The new aggregates recycling facility at Ken Hope Ltd., Cumbria |
Ken Hope, managing director of Ken Hope Ltd, said: “There is great potential to increase the supply of recycled aggregates while minimising any environmental impact. Introducing innovation into the recycling process enables us to recover the highest quality aggregates possible. This in turn will allow us to provide the construction industry with a cost effective way of managing their waste and supply recycled aggregate to more end-use applications.”
Mr Hope explained that attitudes in the construction and demolition sector are preventing the recycling of more materials. He said: “I have been advocating the greater use of recycled aggregates for many years, not simply because it addresses important environmental issues, but because it simply makes business sense to maximise all our resources.
“But industry attitudes change slowly, and many producers of construction and demolition waste do not appreciate its potential value and therefore make no attempt to recycle it. This is a lost opportunity.”
WRAP received 15.5 million for its work in developing England's aggregate recycling from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. John Barritt, aggregates technical advisor for WRAP, said: “One of our main objectives is to directly support companies that are committed to growing the market for recycled aggregates. This complements other initiatives we have launched such as our web-based sustainable aggregates information service, AggRegain.”
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