A £13 million waste recycling and treatment centre is gearing up to begin processing Merseyside's rubbish. The facility in Huyton, which uses heat to convert organic household waste into renewable fuel, could stop up to 30,000 tonnes of waste going to landfill. The facility is part of a Government backed scheme to explore alternative waste treatments to landfill and is one of nine projects being supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) New Technologies Demonstrator Programme.
The Huyton facility will treat an estimated 50,000 tonnes of waste from Merseyside every year. It uses a process which treats the waste through a combination of heat, air and moisture to create the fuels, which are designed to replace fossil fuels for various industries. Carl Beer, director of the Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority (MWDA) said, "This technology will be a great boost to recycling levels and resource recovery in Merseyside. It will divert huge volumes of household waste from landfill - potentially saving thousands of tonnes per year - reducing landfill taxes and consequently saving taxpayers money."
In addition the facility, developed by engineering company Orchid Environmental, could help to achieve lasting environmental change if its trial is successful. As well as treating organic waste, it will also recover materials such as metals, glass, stone and mixed plastics for recycling. Final preparations on the facility were on schedule and it was due to open by the end of March 2008.
