The council share this latest news, following OnTheWight’s report in December. Ed
The council’s new recycling and waste treatment park has moved a step closer following the granting of a variation of permit for the site.
The application to the Environment Agency to vary the environmental permit already held by the council, with its partner Amey, to cover the Forest Park site, Newport, was made last year.
Permit approved
Following this, the Environment Agency carried out a consultation and the permit was approved. Waste operations require an environmental permit if the business uses, recycles, treats, stores or disposes of waste.
Cllr Michael Murwill, Cabinet member for waste management, said,
“This is a really exciting time in the waste infrastructure project for the council.
“Driving along Forest Road, Newport, you can now see the shape of the mechanical treatment plant as the steel frame is up and cladding is starting to go on. We are very proud of the work that is being carried out on site and look forward to opening the doors next winter.”
The Forest Road site is an important part of the council’s aim to divert 90 percent of waste away from landfill and recycle 55 percent of household waste by 2020. The site will take kerbside domestic waste and will also be available for businesses and private waste carriers to dispose of their recycling and waste to avoid landfill.
Striving for zero non-essential waste to landfill
Natasha Dix, council waste and recycling manager, said:
“The council is striving to achieve zero non-essential waste to landfill and to recycle all resources wherever possible. The mechanical treatment part of the site will see all dry recycling sorted and graded here on the Island, ready for market.
“The plant will also sort black bag waste, pulling out the lower quality recyclables, also for market, before converting up to 44,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste to fuel for the energy from waste part of the site, which is set to produce 23,000 megawatt hours of energy per year, once up and running.”
What will happen
State of the art technology will be used to sort clean recyclables (high quality) from residents’ green wheeled bins and gull sacks ready to sell to the reprocessing market and will sort dirty recyclables (lower quality) from the black bags to sell onto available re-processors.
Paper and card will be transferred to paper mills from this site and food will be transferred for anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic matter such as food waste is broken down to produce biogas for electricity and bio fertiliser.
The new recycling and waste treatment facilities at Forest Road, Newport will be owned by the council and will be operated by Amey, the council’s recycling and waste partner.
FACT FILE
- Planning permission for Forest Road Waste Park was awarded in March 2016.
- Michaelis Environmental Technology is the new technology provider, who will build the energy recovery part of the plant.
- Trant is the main civilian building works contractor.
- Stadler engineering is constructing the recycling sorting facility part of the site.
