A new secondary incinerator being installed at the Energy from Waste plant will process liquid waste that is currently expensive to export off-island, a Tynwald committee has heard.
Jeff Robinson, Deputy Chief Officer at the Department of Infrastructure, said the equipment had been bought but the planning scheme currently does not allow processing of those wastes.
“Part of the work going forward is we’re looking to amend the planning scheme order to allow those wastes to be processed,” he said.
The move is expected to reduce costs. “It’s very, very expensive to take them off island,” Mr Robinson said.
Hazardous
A new strategic hazardous landfill site is also planned to replace the existing facility in the north.
Mr Robinson said the department is trying to expand it “to make sure that it’s appropriate for taking most of the solid waste that we produce on island that aren’t recyclable”.
He identified plasterboard as a material that “could be recycled” but is currently landfilled. “Going forward, we should try and avoid that, if we can,” he said.
Mr Robinson added: “There are a lot of chemical type and alkaline acids and alkalis coming out of the aerospace industry, for example, that have to be shipped off island.”