HUGE PACKINGTON LANDFILL TO CLOSE IN BIRMINGHAM, UK – ONCE EUROPE’S BUSIEST

The 50 year old Packington Landfill site opposite the NEC in Birmingham, UK is to finally close today, having swallowed some 35 million tonnes of waste over the years

Managed by SITA UK - a part of Suez Environnment (Paris: SEV, Brussels: SEVB) the site was once the busiest in Europe, received over 2000 truckloads of waste each day at its peak, with deliveries coming from homes and businesses in and around Birmingham. According to SITA there is now around 35 million tonnes of waste buried on the landfill.

The official closure of the site is taking place on the site today and is being marked by an open day for past and present employees of the landfill.

“Packington is somewhat renowned throughout the waste industry. It was once the busiest site in Europe, but it also had the reputation for leading the way in landfill technology,” commented Geraint Rees, general manager (landfill) for SITA UK. “It was the first site in the country to produce electricity from landfill gas.”

According to Rees the site has has been producing energy for the last 25 years, and is likely to continue doing so for another 20 years.

“It has also led the way in introducing high-tech solutions to make sure the pollutants caused by decaying waste are effectively contained, collected and treated – so they don’t cause harm to local people or wildlife,” he added. “This has included a new leachate treatment plant, which opened on site last year.”

However, SITA explained that the introduction of the Landfill Tax in 1996 prompted the move away from landfill, in favour of processes which put the waste to better use.

Composting was introduced at Packington in 2004 and now almost 50,000 tonnes of green waste is turned into compost products for use on local farms and agricultural projects each year.

In 2008 wood shredding also started on site and, each year, up to 70,000 tonnes of waste wood is turned into a range of biofuel products.

The company also pointed out that its recently opened nearby facility at Malpass Farm in Rugby (Read WMW story) and another at Landor Street in Birmingham, are now turning household and business waste, which would historically have gone to landfill, into a high-specification solid recovered fuel (SRF) that will replace fossil fuel cement kilns.

Ongoing care

SITA explained that its commitment to Packington does not end with the closure of the landfill. Composting, wood shredding and electricity production will all continue, alongside the necessary leachate treatment, for many years to come.

Over the next few years, the site will be restored with meadows, woodland areas, lakes and public footpaths – giving local people a brilliant viewpoint over the airport, Birmingham and the HS2 rail line, which will pass close by.

The company said that some restoration work has already been completed, but a further 400,000 tonnes of soil and compost are needed on site before the restoration is complete.

In addition to the landfill operation, the site has been used by a number of different groups, from the bee keepers of Warwickshire, who had hives on the site and produced ‘Tip’ony Honey, to the fire brigade who used to practise four-wheel driving on the old quarry pits.

Sections of the site, and the roads leading to them, are all named after staff and customers, past and present.

One of the larger features of the site, Tom’s Lake, was named after Tommy Richardson, who once owned the biggest skip company in Birmingham and whose ashes were scattered on the landfill when he died.