How we're reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill
In June 2009, former Cumbria County Council (now managed by Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils) signed a 25 year contract with Shanks Cumbria Limited (now Biffa following the acquisition in October 2024). This partnership has slashed the amount of rubbish Cumbria sends to landfill.
From 2012, much of the county's non recyclable waste has been sent for Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) at two state of the art plants - one in Barrow and the other near Carlisle. The MBT process produces a Refuse Derived Fuel, which is used in cement kilns and Energy from Waste plants to produce electricity.
The Carlisle plant was the first to open on 17 December 2011 and the Barrow plant in January 2013.
There are three transfer stations where waste is collected before being transported to the plants - this saves smaller bin lorries travelling long distances around the county.
How the process works
Wagons come into the plant and empty the waste into the reception pit. From there it is put through a shredder before being transferred into the drying hall. The drying hall contains rows of waste from around the county, each row being one day's waste. It stays there for approx two weeks as it is dried out. This is done by drawing air down through the waste and out through the floor, the air is released through a bio filter outside which stops smells coming out of the plant. The waste is reduced in mass by around one third through this drying process.
After this it is then put through a series of drums, sieves, trommels, flip flops and magnets to take out any materials that can be recycled.
While MBT offers a long term and sustainable future for the county's waste, the process will only work if we all continue to reduce the amount of rubbish we create in the first place.