Waste management company Viridor has announced that it will no longer accept non-hazardous waste for disposal at its Ardley landfill in Oxfordshire, and that its Wangford site in Suffolk has closed all together.
Ardley waste to go for incineration
The Ardley landfill, which has been in operation for the past 35 years, has stopped accepting non-hazardous waste for disposal as part of a move to use ‘waste as a resource’. Instead of being landfilled, Oxfordshire’s non-hazardous waste will be treated through incineration at the new Ardley Energy Recovery Facility.
The £205-million, 300,000-tonne per annum facility has sufficient capacity to treat all of Oxfordshire’s residual municipal waste, according to the company. This waste will be shredded and incinerated to produce steam, which will power a turbine to generate 26 megawatts of electricity, or enough electricity to power over 38,000 homes a year. The incinerator will also be ‘combined heat and power ready’, meaning it will have the potential to provide heat and energy to neighbouring facilities in future, though such schemes are notoriously difficult to arrange in the UK.
The waste management company has said that, despite the move towards closing the landfill, local residents situated near the Ardley site can apply for grants under Viridor Credits, which funds biodiversity, community & heritage projects via the Landfill Communities Fund, until 5 August 2015. Thereafter applications can only be submitted for grants up to the value of £20,000.
Wangford landfill closure
Meanwhile, in Suffolk, the Wangford landfill has closed to all waste after 23 years of operation.
The site, which officially closed on 31 March, will now undergo a period of restoration – set for completion ‘by the end of 2016’.
Waste will instead be sent to Viridor’s nearby Masons landfill.
Viridor has said that applications for Viridor Credits in the Wangford area will be accepted until 6 May. The Masons landfill funding area will be unaffected by this closure and will continue.
‘Looking at our non-recyclable waste as a resource’
Speaking of the developments, Henry Austin, Area Unit Manager for Viridor, said: “Both Ardley and Wangford landfill sites have been an important part of the waste infrastructure in their regions for many years. But it’s time to recognise that we should be looking at our non-recyclable waste as a resource that can be put to use.
“The closure of a landfill such as Ardley is an important milestone in the on-going efforts to drive value from our waste hierarchy. Using residual waste to generate electricity is ensuring we’re maximising every available opportunity and will see counties like Oxfordshire further reduce its carbon footprint.”
Find out more about the new Ardley Energy Recovery Facility or the process of landfill restoration.
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