Hive Aggregates’ Retford Circular Economy Project (RCEP) will take pulverised fuel ash (PFA) from a landfill site in Retford and sell it as a sustainable cement alternative.
Nottinghamshire County Council has approved Hive’s application to extract around 300,000 tonnes of PFA waste per year from the Retford site.
PFA has been used in UK construction for decades, sourced from coal-fired power stations. However, following the closure of the UK’s last coal-fired power plant this week – in Ratcliffe-on-Soar – an alternative source of PFA is required, which is where the landfill site comes in. According to the UK Quality Ash Association, there is at least 50 million tonnes of PFA available from disposal sites that could be recovered. Modelling by the UK government has suggested that if PFA recovered from landfill sites was to cover national demand up to 2030, then 22 million tonnes of this reserve would need to be recovered and used.
As well as producing a cement alternative, the project includes plans to restore the site to a natural landscape.
Hive Energy UK managing director Hugh Brennan said: “I am incredibly proud to see the RCEP moving forward. This carbon-saving project has the potential to bring numerous benefits to the local area and will hopefully instigate more positive change within the cement industry. It has taken over four years of securing land, quality testing, extensive consultation with the local community and statutory consultees, extensive and ongoing environmental surveys, a very challenging and extended planning and permitting process, and dedication from a team of skilled professionals covering a wide variety of disciplines.”
