Hertfordshire County Council has ambition to expand waste transfer station by purchasing adjoining yard

A waste transfer station that already deals with around 160,000 tonnes of Hertfordshire rubbish a year could be expanded.

Around 60 per cent of the county’s residual waste is taken to the Waterdale transfer station, in Watford.

And from there it is separated and prepared before being sent on – either to landfill sites outside the county or to be incinerated at ‘energy recovery facilities’.

Now the county council has drawn up plans to buy the adjoining ‘Brookdell Goods Yard’ – currently leased as a transport yard to Mullany’s Coaches.

The proposed purchase – reported to be for around £4.55m – was backed by a meeting of the county council’s performance and resources cabinet panel on Monday, July 5.

But it will need the backing of the cabinet and the full council later this month, if it is to go ahead.

According to council officers this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to expand and reconfigure the St Albans Road site.

It would, according to the report, make it possible for the site to be developed to include a purpose-built facility for ‘shredding’ waste.

And the shredding of bulky waste would then reduce the cost to the council of further treatment – and it could, say officers, fulfil the council’s ambition not to send any waste to landfill..

In addition, says the report, it could divert up to four in 10 vehicles from the current Waterdale entrance – improving queuing into the site.

During the meeting Liberal Democrat Cllr Tim Williams agreed that it was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity – and that it would be “a good purchase” that would ‘enhance’ waste management plans..

And in a statement issued by the county council in relation to the item, executive member for resources and performance Cllr Bob Deering backed the move.

“I support this proposal and believe it’s important we plan for managing the county’s waste in the most sustainable way,” he said.

“Capital expenditure schemes like this represent not only a once in a lifetime opportunity to provide necessary operational improvements, but will pay dividends for current and future generations by helping deliver on our aims of a greener and more sustainable Hertfordshire.”

In addition to kerbside collected residual waste, Waterdale also receives residual waste from all 15 of the county’s recycling centres.

And it is also used to ‘bulk’ some of the co-mingled recycling collected at the kerbside, street sweepings and clinical waste.

The 1.2 acre Brookdell Goods Yard site – which sits just 100m off junction 6 of the M1 – includes a detached office and a vehicle workshop. It is currently operated under lease by Mullany’s Coaches.

The council’s 2021/22 budget already includes £1.3m for the construction of a new bulky waste shredding facility at Waterdale.

But according to council officers – should the purchase be backed by the county council and proceed – a further capital bid for the reconfiguration and development of the enlarged Waterdale site would be brought forward as part of the budget process next year (2022/23).