New £800m waste management facility in Deeside will cut rubbish sent to landfill

An £800 million waste management facility in Flintshire will greatly reduce how much rubbish North Wales councils send to landfill, politicians have heard. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The state-of-the-art Parc Adfer waste-to-energy plant is expected to open on schedule in May after just over two years of construction. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The facility on Deeside Industrial Park, which involves five of the region’s six local authorities, has been in the offing for the best part of a decade and is designed to provide a sustainable solution for managing waste. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Any materials which are usually difficult to recycle will be burnt at high temperatures to create fuel, gas or steam that drives a turbine and generates electricity. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The facility will be run by US-based company Wheelabrator and has resulted in the creation of 34 new jobs, ranging from plant management to operational, technical and administrative roles. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Colin Everett, chief executive of Flintshire Council which is leading the project, said it would help to cut costs for all organisations involved. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Speaking at a meeting of the North Wales Residual Waste Joint Committee in St Asaph today, he said: ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“We all got together some years ago because we know that individually we were all too small to have any commercial leverage. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“We’ll be sharing income from the electricity part of it and as and when we’ve reached agreement we’ll also be using the heat steam by product. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“The gate fee costs will be subsidised by the Welsh Government and the fact the bottom ash in itself is recyclable will help towards recycling targets. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“It’s state of the art modern technology and in 25 years the site and the value of it will revert to the authorities so we’ve got a very valuable facility.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The Welsh Government has contributed towards the project as it pushes for the 22 local authorities in Wales to meet recycling targets of 70 per cent by 2025. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The only North Wales body not involved is Wrexham Council, which is locked into a Private Finance Initiative which is costing it £15m-a-year. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

There have been calls for ministers in Cardiff to take a look at the deal with FCC Environment, which could set the authority back by at least £419 million over its lifespan. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Parc Adfer will be able to process up to 200,000 tonnes of waste per year, generating enough renewable energy to power more than 30,000 homes. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

During its construction, some union representatives raised concerns that workers were not being paid enough. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

It resulted in a protest being held outside the site amid claims some of the hundreds of builders were receiving as little as £8.75 per hour. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

However, Mr Everett said the issues raised were related to national contractual problems. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

He said: “This is not disrespectful to the union challenge at all, but many of the issues raised were indeed national ones. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“There was never any breach of any contractual requirements. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“We’ve shared a huge amount of information with unions on health and safety, supply chains, local labour and pay rates. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“There’s also a substantial community fund we will be using from the project and there will be a fully operational education centre which is very much about promoting recycling.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Fears have also been raised by residents in Deeside that the scheme will add to pollution in the area. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

In response, those involved in the project said the plant would be subject to strict monitoring by Natural Resources Wales as part of its permit conditions. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Flintshire’s chief officer for governance Gareth Owens said: “We did very high levels of monitoring in the locality prior to construction commencing so that we have a detailed baseline about what the existing levels of air particles might be. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“We can then demonstrate if there’s any deviance to that.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

More than a million hours of construction work have been carried out on the site with tests now underway to prepare the facility for opening. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The first waste delivery is expected to be made on May 6. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here). ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

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