Not to be trashed: Waste site has a landmark moment
Plant has now processed six million tonnes
Allington incinerator has now taken more than half a million waste deliveries.
The incinerator - or the Allington Integrated Waste Management Facility to give it its proper title - reached the milestone this month.
Since it became operational in 2008, the site has now accepted 500,000 deliveries of waste that’s equivalent to six million tonnes.
The waste is burnt, saving around 93% of the volume from going to landfill, and creating electricity which is fed into the National Grid.
It currently creates around 554,000 MWh of energy, enough to power around 29,000 homes across the county.
The plant on a former quarry site is owned by FCC Environment and to mark the landmark, the company has pledged to plant 500,000 wildflower seeds across the site.
To get the ball rolling, the
business hosted a special sowing event with workers planting up a grassy knoll adjacent to the staff rest area, under the watchful eye of the company’s landscaping contractors, Giles Landscapes.
The plant’s general manager Tony Stanbridge said: “We are proud to have reached this milestone. Six million tonnes of waste diverted from landfill and converted to energy is a real achievement.”
He said: “We are focused on continuing to exceed performance expectations as we carry on creating valuable electricity, jobs and community support for the county.”
The plant employs more than 100 staff and has remained fully operational throughout the pandemic.
In addition to the incinerator, the site is now home to a Waste Transfer Station for recyclable waste, which is sorted on site and then bulked for onward transportation to designated recycling plants.
The plant, which cost £150 million, is capable of processing 550,000 tonnes a year of mixed waste a year for energy recovery, and a further 65,000 tonnes of separated materials suitable for recycling.
The company has plans for an expansion of its facilities at Allington.
Kent Enviropower wants to burn an extra 350,000 tonnes of waste a year.
This would increase the output by 75%, which would turn Allington into one of the biggest sites of its kind in the country and capable of powering 50,000 homes.