£10m recycling plant opens in Derbyshire
The “most advanced recycling plant in the region” has just been opened in Swadlincote by Burton-based Willshee’s Waste & Recycling following a £10m investment.
Willshee’s says its new depot will give customers a “fully traceable guarantee of zero waste to landfill”. The Swadlincote facility is powered by solar panels – with the excess power being sold back to the national grid.
Willshee’s managing director Dean Willshee said: “Opening this new site is a huge step forward for our company in terms of technology, efficiency, and also the environment.
“This state-of-the-art equipment produces over a third more material that can be reused, versus other plant – extracting wood, soil, plastic, metal and rubble from general waste. With a process involving three stages of shredding and a sophisticated system of shredding, screening, air separation, magnets, and near-infrared technology, we are able to extract every last piece of recyclable material. What is left, is made into Solid Recovered Fuel (SRF) which is then used by manufacturers. Cement works will use SRF in their kilns, for example.
“The other great thing about SRF is that it is already carbon offset – creating more environmentally friendly energy from waste.”
Heather Wheeler MP for South Derbyshire said: “I was delighted to support Willshee’s with their bid to open up this state-of-the-art commercial collection and recycling centre. It was a perfect venue, re-purposing an old railhead. Everyone is so alive to the need to recycle nowadays and this is as important for businesses as it is for our homes. Now that it has opened I wish them every success with this venture.”
