Decision set to be made on plans for new waste and recycling plant

A decision is set to be made this week on plans to build a major new waste transfer station and recycling facility to handle rubbish from across Cornwall. SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK have applied to build the new depot on land at Cornwall Business Park in Hallenbeagle and biodiversity works at the former Wheal Peevor Mine site in Scorrier.

The site would be home to a materials recycling facility that would sort, bale, or bulk up recyclables so that they can be transferred to reprocessing facilities. It would also have a waste transfer station which would handle rubbish collected from households and from dumps which will then be transferred to the incinerator at St Dennis.

In addition there will be a food waste facility that would bulk up collected materials so that they can be transferred to an anaerobic digestion facility. And there would be facilities for the processing of street cleaning waste and street sweepings.

A planning application for the new facilities is set to go before Cornwall Council's strategic planning committee when it meets on Thursday at New County Hall in Truro. Planning officers have recommended that the application should be approved.

In a report going to councillors officers state that the application is unusual as it includes one plot for the waste handling site and a second one for biodiversity improvement measures. However, it is being considered as a single application.

The waste site will be used to process up to 140,000 tonnes of rubbish every year. This will include up to 100,000 tonnes of residual waste and up to 40,000 tonnes of recyclable materials.

A single large building is proposed for the facilities which would measure around 168.5m in length and be around 53m wide at its widest point. It will be around 13m tall.

The report states: "The proposals in the current application for Plot 1 Hallenbeagle seek to enhance recycling by providing facilities for this to be achieved via a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where materials such as household recyclable waste (card, plastics, cans, paper, and glass) can be sorted, baled and/or bulked up for onward transport to reprocessing facilities. Other sources of such materials would be from other Transfer Stations and from the network of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). Third-party trade wastes could also be handled.

"The proposed Refuse Transfer Station (RTS) would accept household residual waste delivered by Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs); residual waste from HWRCs; trade waste from third parties and SUEZ Industrial and Commercial RCV fleet; all of which would be transported to the Cornwall Energy Recovery Centre (CERC) for incineration / production of electricity.

"Household food wastes would be bulked up for onward transfer for anaerobic digestion elsewhere. Street Cleaning Waste and Street Sweepings delivered by street cleaning vehicles would be bulked up for onward transportation to other processing facilities; Clinical Waste delivered by box vans and RCV which would also be bulked up for onward transportation to the CERC along with other assorted material from fly tip and bulky collection rounds."

Six members of the public have raised objections to the proposals for reasons including traffic, smells and noise which could come from the development. Concerns have also been raised about the proposed biodiversity measures for Wheal Peevor.

Njal Skinner said that they had been invited by SUEZ to visit its sites in Bodmin and St Dennis but said that this had just raised their concerns about noise and smell. "Most importantly is our physical and mental health. The noise from the site will be detrimental without question. Nightly sleep disturbance/deprivation. Unable (to) open our windows or enjoy our garden for the smell and noise from daily operations. Knowing that we would not be able to potentially sell our property for its market value and escape is a worry."

The strategic planning committee is due to make a decision on the planning application when it meets on Thursday at 10 am in New County Hall. The meeting will be webcast on the council website.