Veolia Environmental Services has welcomed the decision by the planning inspector to approve its application to build an Energy from Waste Facility at Battlefield in Shrewsbury.
The Energy from Waste Facility will make a major contribution towards the delivery of ambitious targets to recover value from waste in Shropshire
It will generate electricity, and supply power equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 10,000 homes from 90,000 tonnes of residual waste generated in Shropshire. This will be supplied to the electricity distribution network, replacing electricity generated using fossil fuels.
Donald Macphail, Managing Director for Veolia’s Shropshire activity, said: “The decision to approve planning today recognises that this facility is a crucial part of the strategy to recover value from waste through the production of energy, and reduce the amount sent to landfill. Waste is a valuable resource and energy from waste facilities have a critical role to play, together with recycling and composting, as part of an integrated waste management strategy.”
An Environmental Permit to operate the facility was granted by the Environment Agency on 22 June 2010. Work to develop the site will begin once pre commencement works are completed and mobilisation of the contractor is undertaken. It is hoped that the facility will be operational within three years. Approximately 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase and 21 permanent posts once the facility is operational.
On 1 October 2007, Veolia Environmental Services Shropshire Limited began a 27 year contract to provide waste services for the County of Shropshire.
This means that Veolia has taken on responsibility for collecting, reducing, recycling, recovering and disposing of household waste on behalf of Shropshire Council. We will make a capital investment of more than £100m in waste infrastructure over the period of the contract to support a fully-integrated strategy for managing Shropshire’s waste.
There are plans for a number of proposals to enhance waste services across the county and to reduce the amount of household waste that is sent to landfill from 65 per cent in 2005/6 to just five per cent by 2015. There are a number of proposals which include:
- Increasing Shropshire’s recycling levels to more than 50 per cent by 2012.
- Introducing a kerbside plastic bottle collection service across the county by 2011.
- Construction of two new integrated waste management facilities (IWMF) in Oswestry and Bridgnorth which will include household recycling centres and waste transfer stations. The Oswestry facility opened in October 2009. The Bridgnorth facility opened in March 2012. Construction of an in-vessel composting facility, which will allow the treatment of all compostable wastes, including all food waste – turning it into valuable, peat-free compost whilst significantly reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. A planning application is currently with Telford & Wreking Council.
- Provision of an Energy from Waste Facility at Battlefield Enterprise Park in Shrewsbury that will eventually produce enough electricity from residual waste to power over 10,000 homes each year. Planning permission for this facility was granted in January 2012 and the facility is due to be open by 2012. View the Shropshire Energy from Waste Facility FAQ's.
Veolia Environmental Services is the UK’s leading recycling and waste management company employing over 12,000 people serving local authorities, business and industry. We provide the full range of integrated waste management services to over a third of the UK’s population and serve more than 65,000 commercial and industrial customers.
We are committed to protecting the environment and improving the lives of the communities in which we operate and have been awarded Platinum Rating in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index for 2012.
Veolia Environmental Services is part of Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE), the worldwide reference in environmental services. The company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in three complementary segments: water management, waste management and energy management. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €29.6 billion in 2011
Further information can be obtained by visiting the websites:
www.veolia.co.uk
www.veolia.com
www.veolia.co.uk/shropshire
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