New Recycling & RDF Facility Hits 98% Landfill Diversion in Cumbria

Waste and recycling firm, Cumbria Waste Group has opened a new 50,000 tonne per year Material Recycling Facility (MRF) to process commercial and municipal waste in Cumbria, UK. According to the company, it has invested £1.25 million in the recycling plant at its Hespin Wood site, near Carlisle, and claimed to be achieving recycling rates of almost 100% following the launch of the plant. Cumbria Waste Group added that the MRF has dual uses. Part of it can accept materials such as cans, plastic, card and bottles, known as co-mingled materials, that are generally collected as part of domestic kerbside collections schemes. The other part of the MRF accepts commercial, industrial and construction waste. The company explained that can include a range of material, including soil, rubble, plasterboard and wood, as well as paper, cardboard, cans and plastics. Eden District Council is just one of the local authorities sending materials to the new facility from kerbside collections. The company added that all materials arriving at the plant are separated and sorted, before being sent to re-processors such as paper mills or plastics recycling plants where they are recycled and made into new products. Any of the material which cannot be recycled is processed as a Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) or Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to allow the recovery of energy from waste and with the aim of achieving 100% landfill diversion. However, the company said that landfill remains an option for non-recyclable waste if ‘absolutely necessary’. "This is a significant investment on our part but one which was needed to ensure waste generated in in Cumbria is actually processed in the county, rather than having to be sent out of the area, as was the case previously,” commented Mike Bareham, managing director of Cumbria Waste Group. He added that it provides current and potential customers with a cost-effective and sustainable waste management solution that has major environmental benefits. "We are achieving recycling rates of up to 98% by using the MRF to process the co-mingled materials and through selling the materials on the recycling market we are even able to offer our customers a rebate, so as well as meeting their environmental responsibilities, they are earning an income from their waste as well,” continued Bareham. The company said that it expects the new recycling facility to create 14 jobs for local people, while due to demand for the service it is also expecting to create further employment in the coming months. Read More Small Scale Waste to Energy Plant Opened by Viridor in Exeter, UK Viridor’s new small scale 60,000 tonne per year thermal treatment waste to energy facility has officially opened in Exeter, south west England. Shanks Supplies AD Biogas Equipment for Research at UK’s Cranfield University Shanks has supplied a pilot anaerobic digestion line to produce biogas from C&I and food waste at Cranfield University in the UK, and to support future research and development. VIDEO UPDATE: 161 MW Waste to Energy CHP Plant Comes Online in Finland Vantaa ENergy has inaugurated a waste to energy facility with a combined heat and power output of over 160 MW in Vantaa, Finland.