Contract with FCC Brings Mechanical Biological Treatment to Wrexham

A Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) plant to be built in Wrexham will produce fuel for Viridor's Runcorn waste to energy plant following a major contract variation that will allow Wrexham Council to meet the Welsh Government's tighter new statutory recycling targets. According to the FCC Environnement, which will build and operate the facility, this new phase of the council’s waste strategy follows on from the development of the Wrexham Eco Recycling Park on Bryn Lane in 2009, which is part of its Private Finance Initiative (PFI) partnership with Wrexham Council. The company added that this enabled Wrexham Council to meet the original Welsh Government recycling target of 40%. The new project will see the development of a MBT Plant on the Bryn Lane site that will recover recyclate and produce a refuse derived fuel (RDF) from the household residual waste. The facility, which has already secured planning permission, is anticipated to be operational by next summer. FCC Environnement - formerly WRG and a part of Spanish infrastructure company, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (IBEX: FCC) - said that the new agreement will also ensure that reliance on landfill disposal is reduced further in years to come. Fuel production According to the company, which will also operate the MBT facility once complete, it has established a long-term fuel supply agreement with Ferrybridge Multifuel Energy, a Joint Venture between SSE and Wheelabrator Technologies which is building a £300 million, 500,000 tonne, multifuel power generation facility in West Yorkshire. Fuel recovered from household residual waste will be delivered to the Ferrybridge facility for the purpose of electricity generation from 2015 onwards, when the Ferrybridge multifuel facility is expected to be fully operational. In the meantime, FCC said that fuel produced at the MBT facility will be delivered to the new Runcorn Energy from Waste facility under the terms of a S101 Local Government Act agreement with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and operator Viridor. Runcorn Energy from Waste will use RDF from Wrexham, Greater Manchester and other contracts to generate up to 70 MW of renewable electricity and up to 51 MW of heat. Benefits According to FCC this variation will provide Wrexham Council with the benefit of saving money, reduced carbon footprint and the ability to meet statutory recycling targets for the long term. “This second phase is the culmination of over 4 years partnership working with FCC Environment in order to deliver a strategic solution to enable the Council to meet the Welsh Government’s new statutory recycling targets," commented Phil Walton, strategic director with Wrexham Council. Read More SITA to Build Waste to Energy Plant as Part of £1.1bn PFI in Cornwall SITA is to go-ahead with building the controversial St Dennis waste to energy facility in Cornwall under a 30 year PFI contract worth £1.1 billion. Veolia Opens Used Oil Recycling Facility in France Veolia Environnement and oil company Total have inaugurated a plant that will recycle used oil into high-grade lubricants in Normandy, France. VIDEO: Biofuel & Chemicals from Whiskey Waste Project in Scotland The European Parliament's TV channel has published a video looking at a project in Scotland which is aiming to produce high value fuels and products such as biobutanol from the whiskey industry's waste.