In the government’s Our Waste, Our Resources: A Strategy For England, it states “Our plan is to become a world leader in using resources efficiently and reducing the amount of waste we create as a society. We want to prolong the lives of the materials and goods that we use, and move society away from the inefficient ‘linear’ economic model of ‘take, make, use, throw’.

The UK generated 221.0 million tonnes of total waste in 2016, with England responsible for 85% of the UK total, including 331.1 million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste. With the construction of new waste to energy plants and improved recycling rates, we expect to see a reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Waste to energy plants now form an important part of the UK electricity mix. In 2018 alone, more than 6,153GWh of total power was exported by waste to energy sites in the UK. Low Carbon, working in collaboration with its partners, is developing a robust waste to energy portfolio in excess of 160MW.

Kelvin Energy Recovery Facility

Status
Consented

Site overview
The Kelvin Energy Recovery facility is and easily accessible by road and is well placed to handle non-recyclable waste from across the West Midlands including greater Birmingham. The facility will help Local Authorities to focus their efforts on recycling waste and will help to stop waste going to landfill.

Installed capacity (MW)
49.9 (gross)

Households powered per annum
~70,000

Tonnes waste diverted from landfill
395,000