A REVOLUTIONARY new approach to handling waste is on trial in County Durham.

The County Durham Environmental Trust (Cdent) is funding a research and development initiative with one of the largest awards under the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme.

The project represents a major response by Cdent and the Durham County Waste Management Company (DCWMC) to the Government's challenge to increase the allocation of funds under the scheme to sustainable waste management projects.

Plans for a "municipal solid waste aerobic digester" pilot plant are being developed that could transform 5,000 tonnes of household rubbish every year into compost and recyclable by-products.

If the pilot project is successful it is expected to point the way to a drastic reduction in the amount of waste going to landfill sites and will recycle valuable products such as aluminium, steel, glass and plastics.

The scheme is being developed by Cdent, in partnership with CPS Civic Limited and DCWMC, with the research support from Newcastle University's Recycling to Land Research and Advisory Centre and its Regional Centre for Innovation in Design.

Funding of £1m to help research and implement the project has come from Cdent.

Dr. Les Grant, chief executive of the DCWMC, which is responsible for the management of household waste disposal in County Durham, Darlington, South Tyneside and parts of Sunderland, is delighted that the project has attracted the funding.

He said: "This really is ground-breaking research that, if successful, will contribute in a major way to the achievement of the Government's long-term target of recycling 60 per cent of all municipal waste."

The new process takes waste from refuse vans and loads it on a giant shredder that cuts the waste into small pieces.

The shredder works at a slow speed and at a high torque so that it can even cope with tough, tangled materials, such as carpet and hard items, including brick and metal.

The shredded waste then passes onto a conveyor where it is weighed and fed into the aerobic digester for composting.

It is the digester unit that is the most revolutionary part of the process.

The Contained In Vessel Indigenous Composting (ciVic) patented system works on the principle of aerobic digestion by controlling temperature, air and moisture in a tall tower separated into discreet levels.

Karl Shaw, manager of CPS Civic Ltd, manufacturer of the digester, said: "The digester aims to replicate the optimum environment for rapid composting to take place."

Scientists at Newcastle University are investigating the uses of the resultant compost, which is expected to yield about 50 per cent of the weight of the original waste matter fed in at the start of the process.

The pilot version of the aerobic digester could be operational by November. If this is successful, then plans could start on developing either full-scale plants that will handle more than 50,000 tonnes of waste a year or, if the research proves advantageous, small plants at a larger number of sites to avoid the transporting of waste.

Over the past four years Cdent has allocated £4m, received from Landfill Tax Credit donations, to a host of projects that will benefit the local environment and the people who live, work and visit County Durham, Sunderland and Darlington.