FCC has inaugurated a waste management centre in Longshot Lane, Bracknell (UK) after fully rehabilitating the former civic amenity centre on the same site.
This is the latest installation to be inaugurated by the re3 Partnership, comprising the Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Councils working with Waste Recycling Group (WRG); the re3 Partnership was established to improve the infrastructure and facilities with a view to increasing the rate of waste reuse, recycling and composting while minimising the amount of waste sent to landfills over a 25-year period. The venture represents approximately 700 million pounds in total revenues.
The new facility includes a household waste recycling centre, where residents from the three re3 partner boroughs can recycle a wide range of materials, such as beverage cartons, mobile phones and ink cartridges, and a waste transfer station where waste from the kerbside collection services is sorted and separated. There are also improved facilities for collecting and disposing of waste from the kerbside collection service and a weighbridge for trade waste.
The partnership anticipates that it will handle over 100,000 tonnes of waste each year, which will contribute to achieving their target of recycling or composting 40% of the waste produced in the three boroughs by 2010.
The site also features a brand-new education centre, which is already being used by local schools and community groups to learn more about recycling further and wasting less.
Re3 officially opened its first waste management park, at Smallmead in Reading, in July this year. The two waste management parks cost 28.4 million pounds and are managed for the partnership by WRG.
By 2021 the partner councils expect to use them to recycle over 50% of their waste and obtain value from 74%.
Leaders in waste management in the UK
Waste Recycling Group, which was acquired by FCC in 2006, processes over 11 million tonnes of household waste each year, making it the leader in this field in the UK.
It has two plants for generating electricity from household waste, at Allington and Eastcroft, with a total capacity of 62 MW. WRG also has 58 landfill sites, 14 composting plants, 70 civic amenity centres, and other facilities for recycling and processing industrial waste.
