GOVERNMENT MINISTER OPENS NEW RECYCLING PLANT

March 23rd, 2007

The UK’s largest purpose-built wood recycling facility was officially opened on Teesside today (Friday March 23rd) by Lord Truscott, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy.

Middlesbrough-based UK Wood Recycling (UKWR) will produce 80,000 tonnes of recycled wood chip a year to help fuel the £60 million Wilton 10 biomass boiler, which is due to be operational later this year.

The company is the sister company of Manchester-based Hadfield Wood Recyclers. It has purpose-built the £8 million wood recycling facility on the edge of the Wilton International site, where the boiler is situated. It currently employs 17 people. That number will increase to 40 over the next two years.

Geoff Hadfield, Managing Director of UKWR, said: “I am delighted that Lord Truscott agreed to officially open our site. UKWR is a major step forward for renewable energy in terms of using wood waste to generate electricity. This is a first for us but we hope there will be many more such schemes replicated around the country.”

UKWR is expecting to take in 100,000 tonnes of wood waste on site in 2007. It will come from a variety of sources including construction, demolition, haulage, logistics, distribution, furniture manufacturing and local authorities.

The wood chip for the Wilton 10 boiler is manufactured to a high specification and undergoes rigorous testing at a specially-built on-site laboratory before being released for use in the boiler. As well as the chip, UKWR will also produce a number of recycled products including horse, poultry and cattle bedding.

Performing the opening, Lord Truscott said: “This scheme that we are witnessing today is essential as part of our overall ability to tackle global warming. This is an excellent example of what this country should be doing.”

Redcar and Cleveland MP Vera Baird was also at the opening. She said: “We are delighted to have UK Wood Recycling in Middlesbrough. It is a sound business which has recruited locally and is determined to grow.

“UKWR is an important part of our great sunrise in this environmentally sound industry. With UKWR and the Wilton 10 biomass boiler, Wilton really is on the up.”

Wilton 10 is due to be fully operational in the summer and will require a total of 300,000 tonnes of wood as its fuel every year. Around 40 per cent of this will come from UK Wood Recycling. The remaining 60 per cent will be sourced in equal proportions from forestry management schemes, sawmills and specially grown “energy crops” in the form of short rotation coppice.

When operational, Wilton 10 will generate around 30MW of electricity, enough to fuel 30,000 homes.

ENDS

For further information or to arrange an interview with UKWR please telephone Gayle Green on 01788 817385 or 07766 701479.

gayle@mcpheeassociates.co.uk