Technology

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Diverting waste from landfill

Hills’ Northacre Resource Recovery Centre has increased the proportion of Wiltshire’s municipal waste diverted from landfill to more than 80 per cent from less than 20 per cent a few years ago. Diverting waste from landfill will help save the county’s taxpayers from paying landfill tax which continues to increase year on year.

How does MBT technology work

The MBT process to treat waste employs natural microbes within the waste to accelerate the decomposition process. The process takes up to 14 days and is carried out inside a sealed building which is maintained under negative air pressure to avoid the release of odours to the environment.

Process air from the building is passed through filters prior to release into the atmosphere. As the waste dries, it loses over 30 per cent of its original weight. Once dried, it is further processed to remove metals for recycling. It is from the remaining material that a solid recovered fuel (SRF) is manufactured.

The SRF is a dry and sanitised material that can be safely handled.

What happens to the SRF

Currently the solid recovered fuel (SRF) is transported by road to port and then shipped to Europe for use in renewable energy plants. Northacre Renewable Energy, a special purpose joint venture, propose to design, build and operate an energy from waste facility next door to Northacre RRC read more.