News / Environment
Cabinet approves new contract for Boomeco
The city council has extended its waste disposal contract with recycling firm Boomeco.
Mayor George Ferguson signed off a one-year extension with the company which was at the centre of a fly infestation last year.
The new deal ensures a minimum of 40,000 tonnes of waste is sent to the Chittening Road site in Avonmouth, saving it from handfil.
is needed now More than ever
The waste is converted to bales of refuse derived fuel (RDF) which is then shipped to Sweden to burn in biomass power plants.
The contract will help bring down the amount of waste which goes into landfill from 30 per cent to 10 per cent.
Daniella Radice, assistant mayor for neighbourhoods, recommended the new contract go ahead at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. She said the contract was “consistent” with the council’s own priorities to divert as much waste as possible from landfill.
The Green Party councillor, who has experience working in the waste disposal industry, added: “We are actually having a positive impact by diverting waste from landfill to be used as energy.”
She also insisted that the bales of RDF will be processed and stored undercover – preventing any more fly infestations which could affect residents in Avonmouth.
Boomeco was occupied by environmental protesters on Monday, campaigning against its wood chip processing being used to fire biomass power plants and make chip board.
The company said: “Both of these activities divert waste from landfill, reducing costs for local taxpayers and stopping greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.”
