In a unanimous decision by Stockton Borough Council’s Planning Committee, Augean plc has been granted planning permission for an innovative waste recovery park for the treatment of hazardous wastes, to be located on land adjacent to the existing landfill site at Port Clarence, Teesside.   The facility is keenly located at the hub of the largest hazardous waste market in the UK and firmly establishes Augean’s position in leading the modernisation of the sector.

The 12.7 hectare site will provide an integrated waste management facility that uses several complementary treatment processes to recover more waste for reuse and recycling.  Primarily hazardous but also selected non-hazardous waste streams will be treated using technologies such as soil washing, plasma treatment, lime based stabilisation, bioremediation, thermal desorption  and anaerobic digestion together with other forms of physico-chemical treatment and material recovery.  The treatment processes will be complementary to and integrate with the adjacent landfilling operation and will include power generation and effluent treatment. The primary objective of the proposed development is to provide a flexible, market responsive treatment infrastructure which is based on the best available technologies and environmental controls. It is not proposed that all the treatment processes are implemented at once.  Technologies will be put in place as and when necessary in response to the needs of the market.

It is anticipated that initial construction of the waste recovery park will commence in the summer 2008, with the facility accepting waste for treatment by 2009. Once fully operational the waste recovery park will create 64 jobs, as well as helping to support the local and regional economy and local industry.

Gene Wilson, Technical Director of Augean, said, ‘Naturally, we are very pleased that Stockton’s Planning Committee felt able to support our proposals for the Port Clarence Waste Recovery Park. We look forward to continue working with the Council and the local community, to deliver a centre of excellence for the recovery of the value of some of our most difficult to manage wastes.’