What happens to the waste we put in our green bin you may well ask? Well, here’s the thing, it does not go to landfill, it goes instead to Lakeside Energy From Waste (EfW) at Colnbrook.
Today, members of the Bracknell Forest Council Climate Change Advisory Panel visited the Lakeside facility, Conservative Councillors on the visit included Executive Member for the Environment Mrs Dorothy Hayes MBE (Ascot), Executive Member for Planning and Transport Chris Turrell (Harmans Water), Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Panel Tony Virgo (Winkfield and Cranbourne), Ray Mossom (Owlsmoor), Mrs Sandra Ingham (Warfield Harvest Ride). The delegation also included Gerry Barber Chairman of the Bracknell Conservative Association.
Using advanced technology, the Lakeside plant processes over 450,000 tonnes of residual waste each year, generating enough low carbon energy to provide electricity to more than 50,000 homes. Residual rubbish which cannot be recycled is turned into energy by burning it at a very high temperature (950C). The heat generated turns water into steam which drives a turbine powering an electric generator, which feeds directly into the grid. The remaining ash is reprocessed for road building or locked into carbon neutral blocks used by the construction industry.
There are 47 additional fully operational plants in the UK and we need 20-30 more to stop landfill completely, Our local Lakeside is the 7th largest in the country and a like for like replacement would cost about £350 million.