Waste incinerator plan for town

COUNCIL bosses have approved a waste management strategy for Warrington which would involve generating energy by burning waste in an incinerator to be built in the borough.
If insufficient waste was produced within the borough to make the plant viable, it could also be used to burn industrial waste from Warrington businesses and small amounts of waste from other local authorities.
The strategy has been produced for consultation purposes – and the council has been awarded £30,000 by DEFRA to help cover the costs of the consultation.
Once the consultation is completed, the findings will be reported to the council’s executive board and would require approval by the full council and by DEFRA.
If approved, it would be branded as “Warrington Waste Watchers.”
The strategy makes it clear the council’s main aim is to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites and discusses a range of options for achieving this.
Increased kerbside recycling – to be launched in September – is seen as the first step towards reducing landfill.
But other methods will be needed – and four options are considered.
1. Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) would convert waste to refuse derived fuel (RDF) or soil additive or compost. But these types of output are regarded in the UK as waste, so their use is very constrained.
2. Autoclaving – a system used for years to sterilise hospital equipment using steam and pressure. There are no commercial facilities currently in the UK.
3. Advanced Thermal Treatment – alternative heat based technologies as yet unproven for municipal solid waste on a commercial scale.
4. Energy from Waste (EfW) – incineration to recover energy as electricity or heat. Council chiefs say there have been “negative perceptions” in the past about air quality and related health risks but the latest advances mean plants operate to very high, clean and safe standards.
The council accepts there are understandable concerns about emissions from an EfW plant but points out it would be controlled by a EU Directive which would ensure emissions were controlled.
No clue as to where Warrington’s incinerator would be built is given in the strategy, but in the past land adjoining the Fiddler’s Ferry Power Station has been suggested.
Preliminary consultations have shown only a minority of consultees opposed to an EfW plant but the council has pledged further, widespread consultation with a series of events and roadshows.