The Becon Consortium, in response to the ongoing procurement by arc21, the umbrella waste group representing 11 councils in the East of Northern Ireland have recently announced plans for the development of new residual waste management infrastructure to help all 11 Councils meet their EU landfill diversion targets and manage waste in a more sustainable way.
Prior to the submission of a formal planning application in the autumn the Becon Consortium, backed by leading European energy company E.ON Energy from Waste, is undertaking a programme of extensive public consultation. This is designed to explain the proposals in detail, answer questions and provide the public and other stakeholders with an opportunity to provide their feedback.
To support the consultation programme, a project website has been launched – “www.becon.co.uk”:http://www.becon.co.uk. There will also be a number of community ‘drop in’ sessions where the public can come along, meet the Becon team and ask any questions about the proposals. These sessions will be held on the following dates at the following venues:
20th March / 21st March 11am-7pm Museum, Mossley Mill, Newtownabbey, BT36 5QA
25th March / 26th March 11am-7pm Holiday Inn Express, Antrim, BT41 4LL
27th March / 28th March 11am-7pm Ramada Encore, St. Anne’s Square, Belfast, BT1 2LD
Representing a capital investment of £240m, the plans, if approved, will see the Becon Consortium deliver a Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) facility alongside an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant located in the existing Hightown Quarry on the Boghill Road, near Mallusk.
This type of waste infrastructure is commonly used across the rest of Europe and is entirely consistent with Northern Ireland’s waste management strategy recently consulted upon. The project will complement existing arc21 waste prevention, reuse and recycling programmes to maximise recycling levels and create a sustainable energy source from the remaining residual black bin waste. The Project remains subject to the successful conclusion of separate public procurement and planning processes.