A complementary quarry neighbour
New Earth Solutions have quickly established themselves as one of the market leaders in the design, construction and operation of fully enclosed composting facilities in the UK. The company has been selected by several local authorities and businesses to produce high-quality compost from biodegradable waste collected from householders and commercial/industrial premises. With increases in landfill tax and local authorities being set regressive landfill allowances, there is significant demand for additional capacity to divert waste away from landfill.
Based in Poole, Dorset, New Earth Solutions have embarked on an ambitious national roll-out program, aspiring to deliver 50 new facilities over the next five years. The company is already well on its way with a large number of sites already in the planning process, a 100,000 tonnes per annum facility under construction at Blaise Farm Quarry in Kent, and a fully operational facility at Canford in Poole. But what has this got to do with quarrying?
Planning manager Brett Spiller explained: ‘New Earth Solutions are an independent company with a good understanding of the quarry and aggregates industry. It is our experience that a New Earth facility can serve to complement existing quarry and aggregates operations. The use can potentially offer returns which are not available for other uses and can, through obtaining planning permission to service local authority waste contracts, bring into productive use surplus land or disused sites that are difficult to develop for alternative uses.
He added: ‘New Earth Solutions’ operation comes with some impressive environmental credentials and the potential to deliver on-site energy using low-carbon technologies. The latter can be of immediate benefit to quarry operations that have a high energy requirement, providing security of supply and immediate environmental benefits, including compost for soil blending and landscape restoration.’
New Earth Solutions have recently teamed up with Lafarge, successfully securing a contract to handle 30,000–50,000 tonnes per annum of municipal waste for Leicestershire County Council. The preferred site sits within a former sand and gravel extraction site, which is now an active landfill operation. The proposed development demonstrates how the facility will be built within a relatively constrained site.
Meanwhile, further south, New Earth Solutions have worked with Kent County Council to deliver a facility capable of meeting the needs of local residents and businesses alike at Blaise Farm, in West Malling. The facility sits within a Kentish ragstone quarry operated by Hanson and Gallaghers, as construction project manager Nathan Ross explained: ‘The quarry floor at Blaise is approximately 20m below the height of the surrounding land and we anticipate that a further 250,000 tonnes of material will need to be extracted in the immediate term. The base is made up of surplus ‘hassock’ from the quarrying activities, which forms an excellent platform for construction, being free-draining and stable.’
New Earth Solutions have proven the performance and efficiency of their technology at Canford in Poole, which has been operating since 2002. The Canford site is itself part of a former sand and gravel pit and inert landfill. This heritage has been brought up to date, as the composting facility is co-located with an aggregates recycling and washing plant. Full enclosure of the process allows New Earth Solutions to optimize the environmental conditions necessary for composting while complying with statutory regulations, such as the Animal By-Products Regulations. Full enclosure also provides a high level of control over the emission of odours, dust and noise.
Moreover, by diverting biodegradable waste away from landfill for composting, New Earth Solutions are able to achieve significant reductions in emissions of methane, which is normally produced through the biodegradation of organic waste under anaerobic conditions in landfills and represents a significant contribution to greenhouse gas. Additionally, the compost produced can be applied to agricultural land as a soil improver, providing a sustainable alternative to peat or artificial nitrogen-based fertilizers. The end product can even assist in final restoration schemes.
New Earth Solutions have an ongoing requirement for sites in all parts of the UK on a freehold, leasehold or joint-venture basis. Sites should be 5–12 acres in size, level or slightly sloped and have good road access. Readers with potentially suitable sites who are interested in learning more about New Earth Solutions should contact Brett Spiller on tel: (01202) 583700.
