A waste firm is turning its old landfill sites into areas for growing biofuel crops.
The
Waste Recycling Group (WRG) has begun planting grasses for
biofuel on 14 of its former
landfill sites around England.
After completing a test project at the former Breighton landfill site in Yorkshire, the project has been given the go ahead to plant
miscanthus grass and
short rotation coppice (SRC) on an area totalling 100 hectares.
After harvest, the crops will be sold to Drax Power Station in Selby for biomass fuel.
"This is a very exciting development for the company and builds on our track record of sustainable reclamation,
recycling and regeneration," said Mark Pailing, WRG senior restoration and energy crop manager.
The crops can be harvested after three years, and they’re expected to produce eight to 12 tonnes per hectare each year after that.
Miscanthus grass
WRG is planting miscanthus grass because it is a high yielding crop. The grass grows very quickly and can reach up to three metres tall. It only needs to be planted once and will continue to come back each year for 30 years. This plant grows well in nutrient poor soils, so it can grow almost anywhere. Additionally, the grasses will provide habitats for different animals.
Landfill sites
Natural England is providing
grant funding for the project, and over the next year, another 100 hectares will be planted for harvest at closed and working landfill facilities.
Five hectares of SRC have already been harvested from the closed Burnstump Landfill in Nottinghamshire. This crop will be the first marketed to Drax for biofuel. The WRG has plans to increase its SRC production over the coming years.
Additionally, the company is planting 40 hectares of forage maize at the Sutton Courtenay landfill in Oxfordshire. The maize will be used to power a 1.5 megawatt anaerobic digester that will be added to the site. Once added, the anaerobic digester would produce
renewable heat and power for the WRG in Sutton Courtenay.
"These developments underline WRG’s commitment to diversify our uses of landfill sites and show commitment to a low carbon economy by developing sources of green, sustainable energy generation," said Mike Bullard, WRG head of bioenergy.
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