The waste management company has already submitted an application to build an in-vessel plant at its site in Priorswood near Taunton. It is looking to take its composting activities inside following odour complaints from residents living near the Priorswood outdoor composting site (see letsrecycle.com story). But Wyvern is now also preparing to invest around 1 million in a second facility at its Dimmer site.
Kevin Bishop, recycling manager at Wyvern, said: “We are looking to put in an in-vessel composting system in the next year at Dimmer, costing around 1 million. We are going to submit a planning application next month or hopefully by the end of this month.”
There are already composting activities at both sites with each able to process around 15,000 tonnes of green garden waste a year. The new in-vessel composting will be built in stages, starting with about 10,000 tonnes and going up to about 20,000 tonnes a year each.
Wyvern is hoping to get planning permission for the facilities by mid-summer so the construction can begin for the plants to start operating in 2005. Wyvern plans to take waste covered by the Animal By-Products Regulation from both domestic and commercial sources.
Chris Jonas, Wyvern's general manager for contracts, told letsrecycle.com: “Under the waste strategies for Dorset and Somerset, to meet their recycling targets they will need to process kerbside collected organic waste. We are providing them with a facility for them to pursue that. We will also be taking waste from commercial premises such as food factories and dairy products.”
Celebrity
While Wyvern looks to start the in-vessel composting of kitchen waste, interest in its garden waste products has grown amongst the public.
Wyvern Waste's Priorswood soil conditioner will receive national TV coverage on Channel 4’s programme River Cottage. Recently, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall bought 15 tonnes of Wyvern’s soil conditioner to be dug into his vegetable patch at River Cottage in Dorset.
Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall joins an increasing number of local gardeners buying the compost as sales last year rose by 22%.
Andy Olie, managing director at Wyvern said: “There is a definite trend towards gardeners and horticulturalists using organic soil conditioners and we have seen a huge search in interest for our green compost.”
The compost is available in 40 litre bags, of which the company sold 20,000 in 2003, but is also supplied by the lorry load to farmers and other bulk users.
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