Noama and John for BFOE recently went on a visit to see a state-of-the-art waste sorting plant, owned by a commercial company which collects waste from businesses in the West Midlands. We were shown the plant by company director Rob Pass (who was a volunteer coordinator at BFOE, many years ago).
Food waste is collected separately from companies and it goes for digestion to make gas and fertiliser. The cardboard, the metals and the mixed plastic are sorted out by the plant, then baled up for sale, leaving a fraction to be Refuse Derived Fuel, which is used to fire cement making, in place of fossil fuels. Solar panels on the roof help to power to the plant.
Technology has clearly moved on since 1995, when Birmingham City Council signed its contract to supply the Tyseley incinerator. Also invited with us was Cllr Joe Peacock, once employed by BFOE, but now the Green councillor tasked with looking at the City’s new waste strategy, which will have the aim of replacing incineration by recycling, over the next 10 years.
