Cumbrian MRF breaks new ground by recovering waste locally

Cumbrian Waste Management has started work on a new £1m materials recovery facility (MRF), which will allow waste materials generated in the county to be recycled locally.


The new MRF at Hespin Wood near Carlisle will also divert 40,000 tonnes of waste material from landfill and will initially employ 12 staff.

Part of an integrated waste management solution on the Hespin Wood site, the new MRF will largely recycle commercial waste collected by Trotters, a skip hire company that is part of Cumbria Waste Group.

The facility will also process household “co-mingled recyclate”, including cans, glass and plastics, which at present is processed in neighbouring Lancashire.

“The new Hespin Wood MRF will mean that Cumbria will retain the capacity to process its own waste rather than relying on sending it to larger facilities in the Northeast as has often been the case in the past,” said managing director of Cumbria Waste Management Mike Bareham.

“This is important not only for jobs but is clearly beneficial for the environment by reducing the distance waste travels.”

The MRF has been co-located alongside Cumbria Waste Management’s wood recycling and green waste composting operation, which are run in partnership with A W Jenkinson and Shanks.

“Co-locating a range of waste management and recycling activities on a single site is more efficient and reflects the changing nature of the industry from an approach focused on landfill to providing specific solutions for each element of the waste stream,” added Bareham.

Nick Warburton

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