Construction work on Allerton waste Recovery Park has reached another key milestone with the installation of the tallest part of the facility.
A 70 metre high steel stack is now in place following a two-week installation programme. The stack is 4m in diameter and houses two flues for each boiler line and weighs approximately 136 tonnes.
The sections were constructed by a specialist manufacturer in Denmark prior to being transported to Allerton Waste Recovery Park near Knaresborough and craned into place.
When operational the facility will bring together three state-of-the-art technologies – Mechanical Treatment, Anaerobic Digestion and Energy from Waste. It will treat ‘black bin’ waste collected from homes in North Yorkshire and the City of York.
Together, the technologies will increase the amount of recyclable materials which are removed from the waste, in turn cutting the amount of rubbish sent to landfill by 90%.
Mark James, Head of Construction from Amey – which is constructing and will manage the facility on behalf of North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council said: “This is a significant milestone in our construction programme and the facility is really coming together.
“The stack is a key element of the energy from waste process. This allows energy to be created by burning waste at a minimum of 850C, with the combustion process creating steam which in turn powers turbines to create electricity.”
Some of the electricity created will be used at Allerton Waste Recovery Park but the majority will be exported to the National Grid - this will be enough to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes each year.
Ian Fielding, Assistant Director, Waste Management, Waste and Countryside Services from North Yorkshire County Council added: “I am very impressed with the good progress being made at the waste recovery park and that we’re on schedule to see it open in early 2018 when it will begin to make a real difference to the way we process waste.”
Neil Ferris, Director of City and Environmental Services at City of York Council also commented: “The facility will enable us to harness waste as a source of energy. The on-site education centre will also help raise awareness of how we can all play a part in reducing the amount of waste we produce.”