"We are very pleased that the Council has granted planning permission for these proposals, which will provide the capacity to enable Wrexham to meet its recycling and composting targets in the future"
David Rees, the Wrexham project manager for WRG
WRG has obtained planning permission for a new waste facility and for upgrades to existing facilities in Wrexham. The proposals for a new recycling and composting facility at Bryn Lane on the Wrexham Industrial Estate and upgrades to the Household Recycling Centres at Brymbo and Plas Madoc have been granted planning permission by Wrexham Council’s Planning Committee.
The Bryn Lane site lies about 8km to the east of Wrexham and is adjacent to the existing Bryn Lane Household Recycling Centre.
The site has previously historically been part of a Royal Ordnance Depot prompting the need for site investigation to assess the risks from potential contamination.
A new waste contract was signed by Wrexham Council and Waste Recycling Group (WRG) in May this year. The 25-year contract will enable Wrexham Council to meet its 2010 targets in relation to waste recycling or composting and landfill diversion targets up to 2013 as a minimum, and will allow good progress towards 2020 targets.
The Bryn Lane facility will include a recycling operation where kerbside and bring site recyclables will be sorted, baled and prepared for sale to recycling reprocessors and also a state of the art enclosed composting facility, a waste transfer station and an education centre. The aim is to enable Wrexham to achieve its statutory targets for recycling and landfill diversion of wastes.
IVC
The in-vessel composting (IVC) facility would process compostable wastes including cardboard, kitchen waste and green waste. The resultant compost can be used for improving soil and restoration projects as a substitute for non-renewable and environmentally important peat deposits.
The compost would be sized in the dispatch hall before loading on to HGVs for transfer off site for storage and maturation. One thousand tonnes of compost per year are expected to be provided to Wrexham County Borough Council for use by the public and within the Council’s parks and gardens, with the remainder being marketed.
Throughput
The throughput of the recycling and composting facility is expected ultimately to be in excess of 80,000 tonnes per annum. Input of recyclables is expected to reach 15,300 tonnes pa together with up to 15,000 tonnes of compost.
A typical split level Household Recycling Centre
Split level Household Recycling Centres
Split level Household Recycling Centres seem to be giving good recycling results across the nation and the Household Recycling Centres at Brymbo and Plas Madoc will be converted to split level operation. WRG says that this will result in additional skips to allow more types of recyclable waste to be separated and better access to the site with less queuing.
Work on the new Bryn Lane facility and facility upgrades will commence in Spring 2008 with anticipated commissioning of the new facility by the end of 2009.
Ecological work
Approximately three hectares of land to the north of the existing HRC site is to be provided by WRG to mitigate for the loss of newt and butterfly terrestrial habitat. The loss of butterfly habitat in particular has been very controversial.
Butterfly Conservation Wales senior conservation officer Russell Hobson said:
“Our concern is that the proposed development on the industrial estate might affect two endangered species of butterfly – the Dingy Skipper and the Grizzled Skipper. This site is ranked as one of the largest centres for the populations of both butterflies.
“We do not know what the impact will be on its large population. In Wales in the last 20 years, the Grizzled Skipper has declined by 62% and the Dingy Skipper by 49%.”
In addition three new ponds creating newt habitat will be constructed to supplement the existing pond together with turf translocation and creation of habitat for the butterflies.
David Rees, the Wrexham project manager for WRG, said:
“We are very pleased that the Council has granted planning permission for these proposals, which will provide the capacity to enable Wrexham to meet its recycling and composting targets in the future. This very significant development also underlines the ability of FCC UK – of which WRG is a key part – to successfully deliver new waste and resource management infrastructure.”
Work is due to start on constructing the new facility at Bryn Lane and upgrades to the Household Recycling Centres in spring 2008 and it is expected that they will be completed and operational by the end of 2009.
Further information
Waste Recycling Group Limited, a leading UK waste management and energy recovery company, is part of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) the international construction and services group. FCC UK comprises WRG and Focsa Services (UK) Ltd.
Focused on delivering integrated waste management and energy recovery solutions to meet national, regional and local needs, WRG handles some 13 million tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste each year. The Company operates facilities for the reception, recycling and disposal of waste, including a network of waste transfer and recycling centres and a regional network of landfill sites, and manages nearly 70 recycling sites of behalf of local authorities for use by the general public.