Green light for ground-breaking waste treatment plant

The plant, managed by waste treatment firm Carbon8, uses patented technology to recycle FGT residues from Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities, converting it into a secondary aggregate which can be made into lightweight building blocks.

The new plant will produce around 100,000 tonnes of aggregate per year, capturing around 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in that period. The process permanently captures more carbon dioxide in the aggregate than is generated during its manufacture, making it uniquely carbon-negative.

It follows a similar facility built in Suffolk in 2012, which was billed as the world’s first to carry out this specific recycling process.

Stepping stone

Carbon 8 managing director Steve Greig said: “Demand from EfW operators is increasing all the time as they look for alternatives to disposing of FGT into landfill, and at the same time, our ability to produce carbon negative aggregates has really captured the imagination of the building trade.

“The Avonmouth facility will enable us to respond to the market and, we hope, will be a stepping stone to our ambition to build further facilities over the next two to three years.”

The Environment Agency has confirmed that the output from the process meets end of waste criteria, meaning it can be used as an aggregate product, for example in block making. 

Building blocks produced using Carbon8’s lightweight aggregate

Brad Allen