Green fuel from waste first for Selby thanks to £45m joint venture
A FORMER South Milford brewery is set to become the UK’s first green fuel-from-waste plant and training centre as part of a £45m joint venture.
The Maltings Organic Treatment plant, which is located on the former John Smith’s brewery site in South Milford, has signed a joint venture agreement with global green fuel experts Aquegen to produce ethanol from organic food and liquid waste.
The green fuel facility will expand on The Maltings’ existing composting and recycling plant and aims to create some 75 jobs when it opens for business in 2011.
Steve Carrie, managing director of The Maltings Organic Treatment company, which is owned and operated by Mytum & Selby Recycling, said: “This new initiative means we will be the first ethanol-from-waste production plant in the UK, producing an environmentally-friendly ethanol mix fuel, to cater for increasing demand across the country.
“Ethanol has been produced worldwide since the 1850s from waste products, but only on a very small scale. The Maltings will be diverting waste from landfill and recycling it into clean, green fuel.”
The University of Hull’s environmental technology specialists, ETCIC, have provided academic, analytical and scientific support for the project, with leading microbiologists working under a knowledge transfer partnership scheme. Dr David Calvert, ETCIC’s Commercial Manager, comments:
“The Maltings is at the forefront of environmental waste management and recycling in the UK and is now leading the way on green fuel production. The underlying technology is well established and offers a unique opportunity to turn organic waste into a valuable resource in a sustainable manner.”
MP for Selby John Grogan said the move as great news, both for the local economy and the environment.
“Local job creation is always welcome, but particularly in the current climate and I know the company is working closely with the Environment Agency, the University of Hull’s environmental experts and planners to ensure the plant, which is on an existing industrial site, meets all their targets,” he said.
“The Maltings has been designed to help our local councils meet stringent requirements to reduce landfill and increase recycling.
He continued: “Having a local resource which not only manages organic food waste, but also produces environmentally friendly fuel will put Selby firmly on the map as a UK leader in helping us reduce our carbon footprint.”
The company is now applying for a full Environment Agency licence to open up the full potential of The Maltings and is seeking planning permission for additional building on the old brewery site to house the ethanol production process.
Some 80% of deliveries to and from The Maltings are scheduled to be transported by rail to minimize road traffic, with a recommissioning of the sidings, which served the old brewery.
