A breakthrough process has been announced that will see millions of hygiene products – including tampons, nappies, and incontinence pads – being recycled to produce clean energy.
The concept comes from PHS Group which states that companies who send waste products to landfill face increasing costs, though LifeCycle, the multi-million-pound investment, looks to halt that in regards to hygiene products.
The process combines mechanical separation with chemical treatment and converts hygiene products in refused derived fuel (RDF), which is then supplied to the alternative market in UK and Europe.
Hygiene products across the country are either incinerated or sent to landfill sites and are of little use for anything as both are harmful to the environment.
Justin Tydeman, chief executive of PHS group said:
The commercial sector is continually reviewing its impact on the environment. Hygiene products are an essential part of many of our everyday lives but disposing of them has always been an issue. We have spent almost a decade refining the LifeCycle process and we now have a viable option for diverting hygiene waste products away from landfill.
“For the first time, we can all enjoy the benefits that the products bring and know that they are disposed of in an environmentally responsible way.
“By converting hygiene waste products into RDF instead of sending them to landfill, we can help the sector to achieve environmental targets and reduce waste management costs. Our goal is zero to landfill for our customers’ hygiene waste products by the end of 2017.”
The centre, based in West Bromwich, will be staffed by just four people who will be able to process up to 45,000 tonnes per year once the plant hits full capacity.
PHS is one of the UK’s leading hygiene and waste management companies and operates across 300,000 locations throughout the UK.
