Recycling firm set for towering performance

Jan 18 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

A CRUCIAL time is looming for a towering vision of how up to 300,000 tonnes a year of North-East waste can be dealt with.

Premier Waste Management already uses a system of biological digestion in three towers at Thornley in County Durham to process 62,000 tonnes of household waste by the sophisticated and controlled mix of microbes, water, air and temperature.

Called the Parc system, it operates like a giant compost bin and produces a soil conditioner, with materials such as glass, metal and plastic being recycled giving a diversion rate from landfill of up to 85%.

Durham-based Premier, one of the largest independent waste management companies in the UK, has planning permission from Sunderland City Council for a dozen 16-metre high towers at its new Monument Park site in Washington.

But the number of towers, each of which can take 25,000 tonnes of waste a year, will depend on the company’s success in bidding for contracts from councils which are considering switching to a twin-bin collection system.

“A lot of contracts are coming up for bidding and the crucial time is going to come over the next two years,” said Premier marketing manager Tony Hitchens.

“We see the Parc system as a direct alternative to incineration and landfill.”

The company, whose major shareholder is Durham County Council, will also be bidding for contracts outside the region and, if successful, would install the aerobic digestion Parc technology.

The company is setting up a commercial and industrial waste recycling operation at Monument Park, which has the capacity to handle 100,000 tonnes a year once fully operational in the near future, with around half being diverted from landfill. The development has created 20 jobs and, if the 12 towers went ahead, the number of jobs at Monument Park could exceed 100.

Premier collects commercial waste from outlets including Sunderland FC, Sunderland University, The Sage Gateshead, Chisholm Bookmakers and the MetroCentre in Gateshead.

Students in Sunderland University halls of residence have been provided with recycling boxes.

Premier treatment director Malcolm Johnson said: “Monument Park represents an opportunity to maximise recycling in our region. The site has been developed to provide a solution to waste and help our customers meet EU laws and targets.”

Premier, which opened a visitor centre at Thornley last summer, has an annual turnover of £36m and employs a workforce of 360.