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Locations and Sites

South Tees EcoParc

South Tees EcoParc (STEP) is due to become home to a waste treatment plant in the Tees Valley.

In Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council alone there is a shortage of waste treatment capacity in the order of 60,000 tonnes per year for biodegradable municipal solid waste with about 270,000 tonnes across the Tees Valley area. (based on DEFRAs landfill allowance trading scheme (LATS) predictions).

The STEP project is driven forward by a group comprising One NorthEast, Tees Valley Regeneration (TVR), the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Tees Valley Joint Strategy Unit, Graphite Resources, as well as Renew at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

STEP will help drive building work on the 25 hectare site which will be the Tees Valley's first dedicated EcoParc.

Graphite Resources director Michael Thompson said: "There is huge demand for these types of waste management facilities and we are keen to bid for a whole range of contracts in the North East and further afield.

The proposed plant will consist of a series of autoclaves, each with the capacity to process up to 30-tonnes of domestic or commercial waste in approximately one hour.

The facility will be the second to be built by Graphite Resources which is currently constructing a plant at Derwenthaugh EcoParc on Tyneside.

As with the Derwenthaugh site, wastes that would have been sent to landfill will be reduced by at least 80 per cent with valuable materials recovered and recycled and carbon emissions substantially reduced.

Work on developing the Tees Valley site itself is expected to begin in 2009 in a phased development that will span several years.

Detail of site and location

The site is situated 4 miles east of Middlesbrough town, to the north of Bolckow Industrial Estate in Grangetown; it is bordered to the north by the Darlington to Saltburn railway line, in the east by Teesdock road and to the west by the freight park.

Waste handling capacity

  • Recycling rate of over 80 per cent
  • Capable of treating 500,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per year

Planning background

The development of the EcoParc has the potential to be a major new economic asset on Teesside broadening and strengthening the economic base of the South Tees industrial hub. The site is expected to develop in the following phases:

Phase 1 - 9 hectare plot to locate the autoclave plant, and the central office and administration

Phase 2 - a further 17.8 hectare of land to be used by businesses in the resource recovery sector.

Phase 3a - About 28 hectares is proposed to be developed

Key Points

Vehicle movements - Heavy good vehicles (HGVs) and refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) will access the site via Eston Road on to the main site weighbridge next to the control gate. The vehicle weight will be monitored. MSW and C&I waste loads requiring steam sterilisation will be sent to the raised platform to the south side of the autoclave facility via a ramp. Trade/commercial waste carriers and members of the public will access the facility via the Bolckow Industrial Estate at a roundabout access.

Environmental permit - the site will be operated under an environmental permit. Permits are only granted when the Environment Agency is satisfied that a the works undertaken meet all current environmental legislative requirements and codes of practice.

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