The first shipment of “refuse derived fuel” from Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion has been loaded onto the MV Visurgis and is in transit to Sweden to fuel the Mälarenergi power station.
Approximately 2,500 bales of waste – each weighing approximately one and a half tonnes – were loaded at Pembroke Port, Pembroke Dock, on Saturday and are now heading across the North Sea to Västervik on the east Swedish coast on Friday (14th August).
It was announced earlier this year that Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion County Councils had signed a deal to export waste which cannot be recycled.
By diverting this waste from landfill it will save each Authority around £350,000 a year.
The Swedish incinerator being utilised is more efficient than its counterparts in the UK as it produces electricity and heat for district heating networks. It therefore recoups more energy from the waste than would be a possible in this country.
Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environmental and Regulatory Services, Huw George, said : “As the waste is being used to create a renewable energy, there are good environmental benefits as well as the economic savings.
“The reduced waste management cost is essential at this time as we seek to protect valued front line services.
“The contract will create 11 jobs at Pembroke Dock and in local haulage. We are also working in partnership with Pembroke Port through the use of their facilities at Pembroke Dock thus ensuring job protection in the area.”
Pembrokeshire County Council and the operators of the facility, Potters Waste Management, have acknowledged there were initial teething problems with the processing of waste but confirmed they have now been resolved
Both have apologised for any inconvenience caused to local residents.
The problems arose under certain weather conditions when odours were discernible beyond the processing and storage areas and were the subject of a number of complaints.
Andrea Winterton, Operations Manager at Natural Resources Wales said: “The permit that we issued to the operator has strict rules to follow so that the activity does not pose a risk to the environment and local people.
“We are meeting regularly with both the operator and Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure that the site adheres to the conditions in the permit.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and work with the operator to reduce the risk of any impact on the local community.”
James Potter, Director of Potters Waste Management, said: “Unfortunately the main problem has been as a consequence of the amount of food waste still in the black bags when we receive them for processing. This was becoming odourous as it started to decompose within the bales.
“The problem was identified several weeks ago and fortunately we were easily able to resolve it with the inclusion of an additional process that removes the food before the remaining waste is baled and plastic wrapped – very much like a silage bale
“However the first batch of bales produced did contain food waste, which gave rise to complaints in the locality.
“Since the food waste has now been removed, the nature of the bales is very different and there is now no odour problem with them. However we had to store the older bales until our first shipment
“Thankfully that is now behind us and we are grateful to Natural Resources Wales, the Port of Milford Haven and the Council for their constructive input to resolving this problem.”
Caption
The bales of waste being loaded at Pembroke Dock on Saturday
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