Eco Sustainable Solutions, owner and operator of one of the UK’s leading purpose-built sites for organics recycling and renewable energy generation, has been awarded an initial seven year £14m recycling contract with Dorset Council.
The tender process saw Dorset-based Eco win the contract to continue composting and treating Dorset’s 15,000 tonnes of food waste, 35,000 tonnes of green waste and 8,000 tonnes of wood waste, plus 3,500 tonnes of the council’s street sweepings.
Eco is a Dorset company and will provide Dorset-based facilities to continue managing this waste, helping Dorset Council to maintain its excellent recycling rates and carbon reduction ambitions. The food waste is taken to Eco’s anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Piddlehinton where it is processed to produce digestate, a nitrogen-rich agricultural fertilizer, and methane, which generates energy to feed into the national grid. The green waste, wood waste, and street sweepings will be treated at the company’s Parley site to produce renewable energy and sustainable landscaping products.
During a visit to Eco’s Piddlehinton AD plant, Councillor Tony Alford, Portfolio Holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services at Dorset Council, said: “Our Recycle for Dorset service has seen kerbside recycling increase dramatically, from 29% in 2011 to just shy of 60% in 2018/19. The recycling of organic materials – food, green and wood waste, – is key to this success and Eco Sustainable Solutions will continue to be an important partner in helping Dorset Council deliver its waste strategy in this new decade.”
Eco’s Commercial Director Peter Hardy is delighted that the council has opted to continue to deal with its waste locally: “It makes commercial and environmental sense for local authorities to recycle their citizens’ waste as close to home as possible. We are proud to be able to offer Dorset Council the full range of recycling facilities, creating energy from waste and a range of quality, sustainable products for the landscaping and construction sectors.”