Last updated at 16:19, Friday, 08 March 2013

A NEW waste plant will revolutionise the way that rubbish is dealt with in South Cumbria.

NEW START Ian Goodfellow, managing director of Shanks Group Plc, at the new mechanical biological treatment plant in Barrow. Inset: Ian Goodfellow (left) watches as chairman of Cumbria County Council, Norman Clarkson, unveils the plaque to declare the facility open pictures by MILTON HAWORTH REF: 50045418B001/50045418B003

The Southern Resource Park mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant at Sowerby Woods industrial estate in Barrow was officially opened on Wednesday.

From April 1, up to 90 per cent of materials collected from households will now be recycled or reused.

The plant will be operated by waste company Shanks as part of a £700m, 25-year contract with Cumbria County Council, with household waste from the plant being sent primarily to the site instead of the tip at Ormsgill.

Ian Goodfellow, managing director of Shanks Group Plc, said the technology used at the Barrow site will stop waste from being buried under the ground.

“It is the new way of treating waste,” he said.

“We can no longer rely on landfill. What this (plant) will do is to continue to provide a long-term solution for waste from the surrounding boroughs or authorities.”

Mr Goodfellow said that up to 90 per cent of waste will be collected, with recyclable materials either being separated during the process or being made into Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) that can be burned to provide an alternative source of energy to traditional fossil fuels.

The plant was opened by Councillor Norman Clarkson, the chairman of Cumbria County Council, who said it was important that the county moved away from using landfill sites.

He said: “At the end of the day, we cannot go on filling landfill sites and this is a very clean option.

“I saw one in Dumfries when I was a member of the planning committee which was the same sort of plant as this.

“We were all amazed by it and realised it is the way forward.

“Shanks has opened a similar one just outside Carlisle and I am delighted to open this one.”

There will be no change in the way people’s bins are collected and residents will still be encouraged to do their own recycling through kerbside collections, or by taking waste to local recycling points or to household waste recycling centres.

Martin Allman, sustainability and waste prevention manager at Cumbria County Council, said although waste would be coming into the plant from South Lakeland and Eden, there would only be a minimal increase in traffic coming into Barrow.

He said: “When we did the study for the plant, we had to do a traffic study and there will be a less than one per cent increase in traffic.

“There will not be a huge amount of traffic coming in. It is always one of the concerns for Barrow, with people coming down the A590 corridor.”

Mr Goodfellow said he believed the fuel that was produced at the site could benefit Cumbrian industry in the future.

He said: “We would certainly encourage local Cumbrian industry to consider replacing their fossil fuels like coal with the materials we produce from here.”

First published at 16:17, Friday, 08 March 2013
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk