The Allerton Waste Recovery Park in North Yorkshire has commenced operations, waste firm Amey has announced today (17 August).
Amey confirmed that othe first waste was processed through the energy from waste (EfW) facility, near Knaresborough last week.
Allerton Waste Recovery Park during the final stages of construction
Household waste collected in North Yorkshire and the city of York, which had previously been sent to landfill, is now being delivered to the facility. The plant will now undergo tests before it becomes fully operational in early 2018.
In the announcement, Amey said: “When it is operating at full capacity, the facility will divert more than 230,000 tonnes North Yorkshire’s and City of York’s household waste away from landfill reducing the total amount being landfilled by more than 90%.
“It will also export 24MW of electricity every hour to the National Grid – enough to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes.”
Amey is developing the site under a 25-year contract signed with North Yorkshire county council and City of York council in 2010.
Construction
Construction began in January 2015 with the excavation of more than 55,000 tonnes of earth to create waste bunkers. More than 700 people have been employed in the construction programme.
In early 2013, the project suffered a major setback when Defra withdrew financial backing for the facility under its waste PFI funding initiative.
Instead, the Yorkshire authorities turned to the government’s Green Investment Bank and the European Investment Banks for financial support for the project, with over £183 million in funding secured for the facility.
Commenting on the recent development, Mark James, construction manager at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, said: “This is a really exciting time, after nearly three years of construction we are ready to start treating waste.”
Councillor Andrew Lee Executive member for waste management at North Yorkshire county council said: “This is the start of a new era of waste treatment for the county which will see us moving away from landfill operations and instead utilise household waste as a resource to generate energy.”
Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the environment at City of York council added: “This is a big step forward. We’ll continue to do everything we can to help York’s residents reduce the amount of waste produced and recycle more; this plant through mechanical sorting and ‘digestion’ of organic waste will help to avoid landfill whilst also producing energy.”
For an in-depth discussion on RDF and EfW, book your place at the RDF Conference, taking place on 23rd November at the Congress Centre, London. Visit www.rdfconference.com for more information.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
