The plant will provide a clean alternative to mass burn incineration, a contentious local issue, as a means to achieving the UK’s obligations under the EU Landfill Directive. The plant will create 60 new long-term jobs for plant operators as well as employment for more than 100 during the construction phase.
The plant will have a capacity to process around 200,000 tonnes per annum of unsorted black bag household or commercial waste, equivalent to rubbish thrown annually into landfills by 400,000 people, and is expected to handle municipal waste from councils in South Wales.
The new Wentloog plant will be the first of five new plants to be built and operated by Sterecycle as part of a GBP200 million expansion that will create up to 300 new jobs across the UK over a four year investment programme. The company has pioneered the use of steam in large autoclaves for the commercial-scale treatment and recycling of household waste. The company’s maiden plant in Rotherham, Yorkshire has commenced commercial-scale operations, in June 2008, and is in the process of doubling capacity. Sterecycle’s proprietary technology is able to recover 70% of delivered residual waste from landfill by first treating with steam and then separating it into a variety of reusable materials including an organic compost-like material, clean plastics, metals and glass.
Duncan Grierson, chief executive officer of Sterecycle, commented: “We are thrilled to have received approval from Cardiff Council to build our first plant in Wales. This is good news for the local councils since our plant will provide an innovative solution to reducing dependence on landfill. Our technology offers a clean alternative to the landfilling or incineration of waste. We will also be creating a significant number of long-term ‘green’ jobs for local people”.
