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New £1.2 million recycling facility opened

A new state-of-the-art waste and recycling facility in Cumbria, which will result in 50,000 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfill each year, is now operational.

Cumbria Waste Group has invested £1.25 million in the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) at its Hespin Wood site, near Carlisle.

The facility, which handles both commercial and domestic waste from Cumbria, is already proving very successful with recycling rates of almost 100% being achieved.

Mike Bareham, Managing Director of Cumbria Waste Group, said: “We are delighted to have the MRF operational and to be achieving very high recycling rates on behalf of our customers.

“This is a significant investment on our part but one which was needed to ensure waste generated in in Cumbria is actually processed in the county, rather than having to be sent out of the area, as was the case previously.

“It provides our current and potential customers with a cost-effective and sustainable waste management solution that has major environmental benefits.”

The MRF built by Cumbria Waste Group has dual uses. Part of it can accept materials such as cans, plastic, card and bottles, known as co-mingled materials, that are generally collected as part of domestic kerbside collections schemes. Eden District Council is just one of the local authorities sending materials to the new facility.

These materials are separated and sorted by the MRF, before being sent to re-processors – places like paper mills or plastics recycling plants - where they are recycled and made into new products.

Mr Bareham added: “We are achieving recycling rates of up to 98% by using the MRF to process the co-mingled materials and through selling the materials on the recycling market we are even able to offer our customers a rebate, so as well as meeting their environmental responsibilities, they are earning an income from their waste as well.

The other part of the MRF accepts commercial, industrial and construction waste. This can include a range of material, including soil, rubble, plasterboard and wood, as well as paper, cardboard, cans and plastics.

Any of the material which cannot be recycled is processed as a Solid Recovered Fuel or Refuse Derived Fuel to achieve 100% landfill diversion, or to landfill if absolutely necessary.

The MRF has protected 14 jobs for local people and due to the demand for the service Cumbria Waste Group is expecting to create further employment in the coming months.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Neil Shaefer .