"'These latest plans confirm Cory Environmental's commitment to reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, by bringing forward integrated and sustainable solutions to waste management. The new facilities will complement the current recycling facilities and the ongoing kerbside recycling operating in the county and will play a key role in achieving the sustainable waste management targets for Essex"
Gerald Owen, Planning and Development Manager for Cory Environmental
London, UK: Cory Environmental was recently granted planning consent by Essex County Council for two new sustainable waste management treatment plants at Stanway Hall Quarry, south west of Colchester.
The plants covered by the permission are a Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT) plant and an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant which will treat waste from Northern Essex. The plants will be of great benefit to the County Council in its drive to achieve landfill diversion targets.
Essex, in common with other waste disposal authorities, is statutorily required to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal waste it deposits in landfill under the Government's Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme. In the case of Essex, the county is allowed to deposit 281901 tonnes of BMW in 2010, then the waste further progressively reduces to 187766 tonnes in 2013 and 131386 tonnes in 2020.
Stanway Hall Quarry had been previously identified in the Essex Waste Local Plan for waste facility development.
The Anaerobic Digestion plant will process up to 50,000 tonnes a year of green waste and organic kitchen waste. Methane rich gases produced from the process will be used to generate electricity for the local area. Effectively this green energy will displace the use of fossil fuels.
The MBT plant will process up to 250,000 tonnes a year of other residual household waste, i.e. after dry recyclables such as paper and glass have been removed from the waste.
The facilities have been designed to be completely within enclosed buildings and have a 25 year design life. This will provide considerable environmental control over the operations.
An advantage of the location is that residues from the plants can be used to restore the 7.3 million cubic metre quarry for recreational purposes.
Gerald Owen, Planning and Development Manager for Cory Environmental, said:
'These latest plans confirm Cory Environmental's commitment to reducing the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill, by bringing forward integrated and sustainable solutions to waste management. The new facilities will complement the current recycling facilities and the ongoing kerbside recycling operating in the county and will play a key role in achieving the sustainable waste management targets for Essex.'