Designed by an integrated team of Arup engineers and architects, the concept design for the Bradford and Calderdale Residual Waste Management Centre was the result of close collaboration between the client organisations and Arup’s multi-disciplinary team. The project could not have been achieved without strong working relationships between Arup and the Aire Valley Environmental joint venture partners Covanta Energy Ltd and Kelda Water Services.
Arup assisted Aire Valley Environmental to develop an innovative waste management solution that included recycling, in-vessel composting, energy crop production and energy recovery to deliver high recycling targets and renewable energy production.
As well as developing the concept design for the facility, Arup was an integral part of the bid delivery team. Disciplines involved in developing the bid included civil, structural and geotechnical engineering, HV electrical, planning, environmental and sustainability consulting, transport consulting and project management.
The team’s proposed solution included a recycling facility to extract recyclable materials from the municipal waste stream; in-vessel composting of the organic waste fraction; energy crop production on disused sewage treatment filter beds using the composted organic waste, and thermal treatment of the residual waste and energy crop to generate electricity and heat.
The 260,000 tonnes per annum Combined Heat and Power energy recovery facility would provide power to the adjacent wastewater treatment works. Heat from the facility would be used in an advanced anaerobic digestion plant to treat sewage sludge, producing more renewable energy, with more heat being exported to a nearby urban regeneration area.
