Council Executive has approved a report to take the outline business case for the development of the Regional Wood Waste Recycling Facility to the next stage.
Household wood waste is currently collected by Household Waste Recycling Centres and re-processed (i.e. recycled) at third party sites operated by private contractors.
The outline business case looks at a potential public owned facility in partnership with the Welsh Government and other Welsh Local Authorities.
Supported by the Welsh Government, the Regional Wood Recycling Facility would be situated at Silent Valley and operated by Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council on behalf of a group of Local Authorities.
The development of the Wood Waste Recycling Facility will reduce the environmental impacts associated with waste wood management in the South Wales region, whilst contributing substantially to Wales’ current resources and its statutory recycling targets.
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council, Executive Member For Environment, Cllr Joanna Wilkins said:
“We are currently exploring how The Council and its partners could develop their own Wood Waste Recycling Facility. The benefits include significant savings for local authorities for example through reduced haulage mileage and costs as well as the environmental benefits; the reduction in CO2 and NO2 emissions associated with transporting and treating waste wood. Such a facility would also support our recycling targets and our commitment to the Welsh Government’s Low Carbon agenda to tackle climate change. “