There is Power in your Waste

Recycle for Greater Manchester have announced that Viridor’s energy from waste facility in Runcorn has started to process Greater Manchester households’ residual waste to generate electricity and heat.

275,000 tonnes of waste from Greater Manchester will be converted into approximately 29MW of electrical power and 64 tonnes per hour of steam.  The facility will be one of the largest and most efficient facilities in Europe.

The facility will supply the neighbouring INEOS facility with up to 20% of its total energy needs.  By using Greater Manchester’s waste as fuel will significantly help in cutting energy costs at the facility and reduce its use of fossil fuels.

The waste is transported by rail to Runcorn from the four Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facilities in Greater Manchester where the waste is firstly pre-treated.  The MBTs also anaerobically digest waste on site which generates electricity to power the MBTs, with an additional 4MW enough to power 4,000 homes is exported to the national grid.

Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority said: “The facility in Runcorn forms part of Greater Manchester’s recycling and waste solution with our targets to recycle and compost at least 50%, and divert from landfill at least 75%, of waste generated by 2015.  With the facility becoming operational brings us a step closer to our objective of achieving our aim of zero waste.  However, our priority still remains the same which is to both support and encourage residents to waste less and recycle more.”

Commissioning of Phase 1 of Runcorn began in January and the first waste processed indicates the end of construction and final stages of testing and commissioning before the site becomes fully operational.  

The facility will undergo additional commissioning activities prior to full operation to allow the facility to produce renewable electricity and heat for the INEOS facility.

ENDS

Issued: 13 March 2014.

Notes to Editors

Recycle for Greater Manchester is a partnership between Viridor Laing (Greater Manchester) Limited (VLGM) and the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA), encouraging all residents of Greater Manchester to reduce, re-use and recycle more and help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

The Greater Manchester zero waste initiative will save around 286,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) provides recycling and waste disposal services for 1,009,815 households in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. It handles around 5% of national municipal waste.

Viridor Laing (Greater Manchester) Limited (VLGM)  is a joint venture company owned by Viridor, a subsidiary of Pennon Group PLC, and John Laing PLC, who have come together to deliver a 25 year Recycling and Waste Management Contract.

VLGM provides facilities and services to manage householders waste in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. This involves the reception, treatment and disposal of waste to increase levels of recycling, composting and recovery and reduce waste sent to landfill.

Runcorn Energy from Waste

The Runcorn Energy from Waste (EfW) Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility is designed to receive Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) produced from non-recyclable wastes arising from local authority (e.g. Greater Manchester) and local business contracts.

Construction of the Runcorn Energy from Waste facility began in 2010.

The facility is being built in two phases and will be able to treat up to 850,000 tonnes of RDF each year.  It will be capable of generating up to 70MW of electricity and up to 51 MW of heat for exclusive use by INEOS ChlorVinyls.  Once operational, the Energy from Waste facility will play a vital role in securing more than 1,500 jobs in Halton at the neighbouring chlorine and PVC manufacturing plant operated by INEOS ChlorVinyls.

The development is being delivered by a Joint Venture comprising Viridor, INEOS ChlorVinyls and John Laing, with funding from a combination of public and private finance.  The facility will be operated by Viridor.

By reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill and using it as a resource from which to recover energy, the Runcorn facility will help the UK reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, improve sustainability and achieve significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, which in turn will reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.

Viridor: Transforming Waste 

Viridor is one of the UK’s leading recycling, renewable energy and waste management companies.  Part of the FTSE 250 Pennon Group, Viridor puts waste into action, transforming it into high quality recyclables, raw materials and energy.

Its full range of services includes: recycling and waste advice and auditing; advanced materials recycling; glass and plastics reprocessing; composting; mechanical & biological treatment; anaerobic digestion; waste to energy; transport; collection; landfill disposal; and habitat restoration and management. 

Each year Viridor transforms over two million tonnes of materials into high quality recyclate, and yet more into over 760 gigawatt hours of renewable energy.  In total it safely manages over eight million tonnes of recyclables and waste materials for customers from all sectors across the UK.

Employing over 3,200 people, Viridor strives to be an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable business. All sites and services are operated under the company’s business management system incorporating the highest environmental, quality and health and safety standards. 

Viridor won two important titles (Health and Safety Best Practice and Best Communications Campaign) at the 2012 Chartered Institution of Wastes Management Awards for Environmental Excellence. Previously, the Lakeside Energy from Waste facility (a Viridor joint venture) has won the CIWM Peel People’s Cup for the best run facility in the UK, and Viridor is a recent ‘Recycling and Waste Management Business of the Year’ winner at the National Recycling Awards.