Posted on Wednesday 27th September 2023
Steve Mitchell from Veolia (left) with Tim Cooper, head of waste and sustainability at Staffordshire County Council and pupils from Brewood Middle School.
More than 2.75 million tonnes of waste has been diverted from landfill and sent to energy recovery to generate electricity to power 66,000 homes.
These are amongst the successes of a partnership between Staffordshire County Council and Veolia Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Four Ashes in the last 10 years.
Other highlights for the partnership include the EnvrioGrant scheme where a total of over £55,000 has been awarded to Staffordshire's communities to help them be more sustainable. Educational tours of the ERF plant along with access to resources for schools focusing on reduce, reuse and recycle have also taken place.
All difficult to recycle or compostable waste is delivered either direct from the kerbside, the Household Waste Recycling Centres or in bulk from waste transfer stations in Staffordshire to the ERF where it is processed. This process then creates steam power from which electricity can be generated. This reduces the county’s reliance on using energy from fossil fuels.
Simon Tagg, Staffordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Environment, Infrastructure and Climate Change said:
We’re extremely proud of the 10-year partnership between Staffordshire County Council and Veolia.
We see over 300,000 tonnes each year sent to the ERF in Four Ashes, which is a huge amount being sent to generate electricity for homes in Staffordshire.
Reducing the amount of waste that goes into landfill is key to a sustainable Staffordshire and our commitment to reduce the county’s carbon footprint to net zero by 2050.”
The county council in partnership with Veolia continues its efforts to tackle climate change, diverting 2.75 million tonnes of waste and sending just 1% to landfill is just a few of the ways that helps to be more sustainable.
Donald Macphail, Chief Operating Officer - Treatment UK said:
The achievements of our flagship Energy Recovery Facility in Staffordshire are staggering over the last decade. The effort and hard work put in by our team, ensuring the plant is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is astounding. Ensuring that we can support our partner, Staffordshire County Council, in working to protect our local environment and handle and dispose of the county’s waste in the best way.
Our Added Value elements of our partnership have gone over and above to support and welcome the local community. The team has funded numerous projects, volunteered with groups and charities, and continues to support the development of local orchards. We have also led the way on artificial intelligence, with the development of a virtual tour of the ERF, enabling us to take the ERF out to the community. With so much achieved so far we look forward to the next decade.”