What happens to the non-recyclable rubbish we put in our bins? A group of Littlehempston women decided to find out and paid a visit to the Devonport Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility. They were shown around the enormous “state of the art” indoor plant by the very amiable and well-informed Mike, and were unexpectedly impressed by what they saw. Pictured left to right are Anna Ash, Val Hoare, Mike, Sandra Law, Jill Todd and Ali Taylor.
The facility opened in 2015 and processes 200,000 tonnes of waste annually from Plymouth, Devon and Torbay to generate electricity as well as usable heat in combined heat and power (CHP) mode, thus saving valuable fossil resources and reducing carbon dioxide output. The operation is high tech with a control room full of screens and read-outs giving the monitoring staff the ability to regulate the process.
The electricity produced supplies Devonport Dockyard and Naval Base and any excess is fed into the National Grid. Emissions from the tall tower are extremely carefully regulated – the plant produces fewer emissions in a year than one night of a Plymouth firework display. Standing outside the plant, it is eerily quiet, given what is happening inside, and only smelly if you stand in the lorry bay. The 57,000 tonnes of “bottom ash” is used for construction and 7,500 tonnes of metal are recovered. A visit is highly recommended – the plant has a full time community education officer and visits from schools and other groups are welcome.
The alternative to burning rubbish is landfill but sites are becoming harder to find. The best option by far is for all of us to produce less waste and recycle wherever possible. Christmas is a bad time of year for excessive rubbish and South Hams Council has produced a very useful guide to Christmas collection dates and Recycling at Christmas giving lots of advice on producing less waste at this time of year.
Do you know somebody who is making a real effort to reduce, reuse or recycle waste? Why not nominate them for a Recycle Devon Thank You Award? The nominee could be a friend, neighbour, child, community group, small business, recycling collector or staff at your local recycling centre. Entries must be made by 29th November 2019. The Recycle Devon website also contains excellent information about recycling at home, school, work, out shopping and in the garden.