HRH The Princess Royal officially opens the Battlefield Energy Recovery Facility

Today HRH The Princess Royal opened the Battlefield Energy Recovery Facility in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The site, developed by Veolia, the UK’s leading resource management company, on behalf of Shropshire Council has been built with the latest recovery technology to help transform residents’ residual waste into a resource.

The facility processes 90,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household waste from across the county generating 8MW of low carbon energy - enough to power 10,000 homes via the National Grid.
 

Veolia UK | Battlefield energy recovery facility main image
Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia Senior Executive Vice President Veolia UK and Ireland said: “Over the past 10 years we have worked very closely with Shropshire Council to develop an integrated approach to the county’s waste management and recycling. This facility is part of a long-term investment in recycling and recovery infrastructure over the lifetime of the contract and will significantly contribute towards maximising landfill diversion.”
 

Councillor Ann Hartley, Chairman Shropshire Council, said: “This excellent facility is at the heart of our commitment to sustainability and making the best use of our resources. It allows us to divert non-recyclable waste away from landfill and into a green energy and complements the new household recycling centres we have opened and the improvements to our kerbside recycling service.”

"This excellent facility is at the heart of our commitment to sustainability and making the best use of our resources"

“All these developments have helped to increase our recycling rate, which for many years has been above the national average. As recycling rates go up, the amount of waste going to landfill has fallen hugely benefiting the county’s environment. We have worked closely with Veolia in a partnership that has seen significant and notable improvements to the service that we provide to our residents.”

The plant began construction in October 2012 and became fully operational in May 2015. At its peak more than 180 construction workers, worked on the building and it now employs 24 members of staff in highly skilled positions.

Veolia, the Business in the Community’s Responsible Business of the Year, works closely with the local community and so far more than 250 people from local groups have come to the site’s purpose-built visitor centre to understand more about what happens to waste in Shropshire.

The Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility is part of a 27-year contract between Shropshire Council and Veolia.