The rainwater is collected from the roof of the tipping hall area, then stored in a tank at the back of the site. The water is then ready to clean the tipping hall floor on a daily basis. As a result, less water is required from the mains supply overall.
The Copnor facility has its own water treatment facility on site, which demineralises mains water for use in the 26-metre high boilers inside the building. Non-recyclable waste is used as a fuel to heat water to steam, which powers turbines, ultimately providing 14 megawatts of electricity to the grid continuously.
Once black bin waste is collected in the city and adjoining districts, it is delivered to the energy recovery facility.
Facility Manager, Charles Winterburn said: “Our staff are very environmentally conscious, so we are always looking for ways to improve our performance. Using rainwater, a renewable resource, is one more contribution toward this.”
Veolia Environmental Services publishes information regularly online, reporting emissions data from Energy Recovery Facilities. This is publicly accessible from this website.