A valuable resource

has announced plans for a new plant that would receive residual household and commercial waste and convert it into Climafuel, a sustainable fuel. The investment, which is estimated to total £35m, would create 25 full-time jobs.

The new plant, which could divert up to 75 per cent of Warwickshire’s future waste from landfill and turn it into a valuable resource for energy intensive cement-making could be built at the company’s former works site in Southam or adjacent to the current cement plant in Rugby, Warwickshire where cement has been produced since 1865.

If permission is granted, the Climafuel plant would have the capacity to receive around 300,000 tonnes of local waste per annum, to satisfy approximately 60 per cent of Rugby works’ Climafuel needs.

Resembling shredded paper, the fuel consists of paper, cardboard, wood, carpet, textiles and plastics that have been through a treatment process.

The proposed Climafuel plant production process would take place in fully enclosed buildings and use mechanical biological treatment technology (MBT), which accelerates the work of natural bacteria within the waste, to produce a dry and clean material that burns well.

Andrew Spencer, sustainability director at CEMEX UK, said: ‘Reuse and recycling will always be the first choice, but MBT is a complementary option. It provides a more sustainable solution to the significant and increasing challenge of reducing UK landfill for non-recyclable material.'

The Climafuel produced at the proposed CEMEX plant could contain at least 50 per cent biomass and displace nearly 180,000 tonnes of fossil fuel CO₂ in Rugby.

Provided planning permission is granted, CEMEX plans to enter into an agreement with a specialist waste management company to run the plant, which could be operational by 2010.