Biossence Creates Jobs from Waste

15 April 2008

Envirolink Northwest member Biossence has been granted planning permission for its proposed waste treatment and energy recovery plant at Hooton Park near Eastham by Wirral Council.

Building the plant will involve an investment of more than £150 million and will create more than 100 permanent jobs. The facility will be able to handle up to 400,000 tonnes of waste per year, and would remove a significant amount of material for recycling from wastes. Biossence plans to treat waste through a combination of autoclaving and gasification technologies to produce electricity via gas engines.

During the initial stages of the project Dr Ralf Trottnow, Managing Director of Biossence contacted the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) to request assistance with finding a suitable site for the facility, provide support during the planning process and help with recruitment and skills development in the area.

Working in partnership with the NWDA, Envirolink Northwest, the energy and environmental technology and services sector support organisation for the Northwest, also supported Biossence in developing the project. Envirolink Northwest's Recycling and Waste team played an active role in introducing Biossence to key decision makers in local authorities in the region and continues to work with Biossence to identify local re-processors for recyclates.

On hearing that the facility had received approval, Nick Storer, Chief Executive at Envirolink Northwest said, "This is a significant decision for the Northwest, in terms of the level of investment and the additional waste treatment capacity it brings to the region. The skilled jobs created show the way forward for the industry. I would like to congratulate the Envirolink Northwest team that supported Biossence in its investment decision."

Managing Director Dr Ralf Trottnow commented, "We still have a lot of work ahead of us and we intend to co-operate closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that we are compliant with all the necessary regulations that will control our processes. We will continue to provide the local authority and the neighbouring community with information about our plans as we have at every step so far taken."

Dr Trottnow continued, "This will be a genuinely renewable source of energy and it has already generated interest from other companies including Vauxhall which is attracted by the prospect of guaranteed energy costs that are not influenced by fluctuations in the price of fuel."

For further information please email Envirolink Northwest Limited