Campaigners oppose plan for plastic recovery centre

Worksop residents are not happy with the proposal

More than 900 people have objected to plans for a plastic recovery plant in a Nottinghamshire town.

The proposed facility in Worksop would use a process of thermal decomposition - called pyrolysis - to break down plastic at very high temperatures so the components can be used again, according to planning documents.

However, campaigners have said the site – once a recycling centre – was in a residential area and was no longer suitable for use.

Envale Ltd, the firm that submitted the plan to Nottinghamshire County Council, described it as "the answer to Nottinghamshire’s waste problem".

The site had been vacant since the former recycling centre burned down in 2014

The plan outlines how the pyrolysis plant would prevent 24,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste going to landfills each year and generate enough electricity to power 650 homes.

The previous recycling centre, in Shireoaks Road, burned down in 2014, and the site has been vacant since.

The Shireoaks and Rhodesia Against Plastic Pyrolysis (SRAPP) campaign group rallied local people to submit more than 900 written objections, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Lesley Rowlands, one of the group's members, said: "It was once an industrial area, but that’s been phased out over the last 50 years for residential developments and shops. It’s no longer fit for that purpose.

"People are also concerned about so many lorries going in and out of this junction, which is already an accident hotspot due to the existing recycling centre.

"The more people have gained an understanding of pyrolysis, the more they don’t like it."

Public consultation has now closed, and the application will be determined by the county council’s planning committee in the coming months.

Campaigners said they hoped Bassetlaw District Council would add its voice to objections at its planning meeting on 14 August.

'Carefully considered proposal'

The firm's Shireoaks Plastic Recycling Centre & Energy Recovery Facility project team previously said the development would allow the site to operate once again, but as a "materials recovery facility".

It would manage residual waste on-site and recycle residual waste that would otherwise be transferred to other sites or sent to landfill.

It added: "The Energy Recovery Facility will prevent 24,369 tonnes per annum of non-recyclable residual waste from going to landfill and will generate up to 10 megawatts of heat and 2.5 megawatts of electricity – enough to power over 650 homes every year. The facilities are an answer to Nottinghamshire’s plastic and residual waste problem.

"This is a carefully considered proposal, supported by robust environmental technical assessments which have been scoped following pre-application discussions with Nottinghamshire County Council and the local community. We look forward to working with the technical experts at the council, who will now evaluate the proposals."

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