03 May 2011

Landfill to recycling scheme believed to be first in Europe
A UK recycling company has achieved 100% materials re-use/recovery in a landfill recovery scheme believed to be the first in Europe.

Family-owned firm Mytum & Selby Recycling has excavated a former landfill site in Goole, East Yorkshire, to build a dedicated recycling centre (MRF) for the area, which will open 2012/13, providing 225,000 tonnes capacity for local authorities and local businesses in the area.

"Landfill is often an issue nobody wants to tackle, but because we have invested in the latest technology, we see it as a great opportunity," said Steve Carrie, managing director of Mytum & Selby Recycling. "At Goole we have been able to treat, re-use and recycle all the old landfill waste to help with levelling, landscaping and building the new centre.

"We recovered and refined builders' rubble, stone and tiling to bund the plant and build the recovery plant. All plastics, paper and glass were reclaimed and reprocessed and remaining food and organic waste has been treated at our specialist organics plant Maltings Organic and converted into compost for local farmers.

"When the centre is up and running next year, we'll be achieving 90% recycling targets for all the waste we treat from local authorities and local businesses and will continue to strive for zero landfill to make the site completely sustainable. We know how vital it is for local authorities to reach stringent recycling targets for the communities they serve. Goole has given us the opportunity to show how the landfill challenge can be tackled and bring real benefits to the region."

The company will be looking into other technologies to accompany the MRF on the 17 Acre site to create fuels and energy from the final residual waste after the bulk segregation process of the MRF.

Mytum & Selby has also completed the latest round of investment in its Hull materials recycling centre, which will also open in 2012/13, with a further 225,000 tonnes capacity for local authority and commercial waste treatment. The latest work includes the installation of a baling station utilising some of the former buildings on the site, which will act as a foothold for the future build.

"It's very important that we look at waste as a commodity and look to remove valuable materials from the waste stream prior to any final treatments," said Steve. "This is something our company has been doing for over 30 years".

The MRF build is now underway and plans for the residual treatment of waste are being progressed, as the company seeks to utilise the former use of the site to build an RDF and EFW system, seeking technology to bolt on to the back of the 11 acre site and treat the remaining 10% of the residual waste to create fuel and energy.

The firm has also seen the first batch of totally sustainable compost from the production line at Maltings Organic, its specialist composting and recycling centre at the former John Smith's Brewery in South Milford. Produced entirely from organic waste materials, the compost is being snapped up by local farmers and gardeners and marks the completion of three years' research and development to create a completely enclosed waste treatment unit within one of the old brewery's grain silos.

The centre has two composting units, an ABP shredding system, blending equipment, screening, shredding and waste collection systems, capable of dealing with foods, green waste, ABP materials, liquids, sludges and other organic and biodegradable waste. The in-vessel design enables first-stage sanitisation and ABP compliance, the complete control of odours, bio-aerosols and other emissions.

Environmental technology specialists at the University of Hull provide academic, analytical and scientific support for the plant, which currently has 30,000 tonnes capacity and treatment permission to develop a further 45,000 tonnes. Maltings Organic has successfully completed a year's trial on food waste treatment by Leeds City Council and is now working with other local councils to handle their food and organic waste materials. The Leeds City Council food trials have been a huge success and the company has just been awarded a contract to deal with a proportion of garden waste from Leeds City Council's collections.

Mytum & Selby has invested £2 million this year as part of an over all £50 million programme in the Yorkshire region. This personal investment shows the company's stability and the ever-growing employment base at Mytum & Selby proves that the company are again on target to achieve their goals.

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