CREATING energy from waste is not a new concept, but SITA UK’s facility near the River Tees is setting high standards on energy efficiency.

Thousands of tonnes of household rubbish from across the region is taken to the huge incinerators at the former ICI Billingham site, where it is transformed into enough energy to power a town the size of Hartlepool.

Kerbside recycling schemes have encouraged householders to separate their rubbish – paper, glass, metal, garden waste – that can be recycled or reused, but few people ever consider what happens to the remainder of the waste that cannot be recycled.

Traditionally, most local councils across the UK have buried this waste in landfill sites, but in the Tees Valley, councils have access to the energy- from-waste facility.

The days of old rubbish incinerators billowing out clouds of smoke are long gone and the fact that many people don’t even realise the plant is there is testament to the cleanliness of the process.

The plant, which has been running for more than ten years, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and processes 290,000 tonnes of waste each year.

Each day, more than 150 refuse vehicles arrive from Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton councils, together with Northumberland County Council.

The rubbish is stored in a huge bunker big enough to hold 140 double decker buses and, when full, contains about 7,000 tonnes of waste.

Enormous grabbers are used to drop the rubbish into one of three hoppers feeding the furnaces. Once fired up, fuel is rarely needed to keep the temperature inside the furnaces at 1,000 degrees Celsius – the waste is the fuel.

Hot gases are drawn through boilers, which in turn provide super-heated steam that drives turbine generators to produce about 30 megawatts of electricity, which is fed into the National Grid.

The hot gases cool as they pass through the boiler on their way to the gas cleaning system and, importantly, the minimal emissions are monitored by the Environment Agency, ensuring that the plant operates to international safety levels.

Once the thermal treatment is completed, only four per cent of the material originally entering the plant is left for disposal elsewhere.

Plant manager Graham Ingleson said: “What we do is transform all the waste that can’t be recycled into electricity.

Out of the tonnes of waste that we process over 96 per cent is recycled in some way.

“We are using something that nobody else anymore – their waste. If this plant wasn’t here it is waste that would be taken to landfill and, amazingly, that does still happen across the country.

“In the first ten years, the facility handled over 2.5 million tonnes of waste and generated about 1.6 million MWs hours of electricity. That’s quite an achievement.”

The plant is self sufficient, it draws off enough electricity to run the site as well as operating a radiator-style cooling system, which reduces the amount of water the site uses.

As well as providing electricity, the ashes from the incinerator are processed into construction aggregate for the building industry.

Mr Ingleson added: “The plant is so efficient that the level of toxins emitted really is insignificant. The facility would have to be open for 150 years to create as many toxins as a firework display.”

Situated next to the plant is a community recycling centre, which can cater for 40 different materials, such as green waste, glass, cans, paper, oil and domestic appliances.

Since opening in 2001, more than half a million tonnes of material have been brought through the site.

The green waste is transformed into high-quality compost, which is then sold to gardeners in the area during the first week of the month.

The company plays an important role in explaining the economic and environmental issues associated with recycling and waste management.

In the visitor centre, the public can see how energyfrom- waste works and the complex issues surrounding waste management are brought to life. And every year dozens of community groups, school and university parties and council representatives from across the UK, get the opportunity to tour the plant and see waste turned into energy.

The plant also has strong links with the Industry Nature Conservation Association, which works closely with SITA UK to manage the landscaping of a nature reserve on the site.

People working at the plant face a secure feature in these bleak economic times.

Mr Ingleson said: “Working in the recycling industry might not be seen as glamorous, but with 30 year contracts in place there is certainly job security.

“When we initially opened there were 15 staff, now there are 110 who are all from the local area and the facility offers long-term employment.”