A NEW waste reclamation facility that will help Malvern and Ledbury residents to recycle more and send less rubbish to landfill was officially opened this week.

‘EnviroSort’ - a commingled materials reclamation facility (CMRF) at Norton, near Worcester, was unveiled by Worcestershire County Council, Herefordshire Council and Severn Waste Services on Tuesday afternoon (March 16).

The new facility is able to receive and process up to 105,000 tonnes of mixed recyclables including paper, cardboard, tins and cans, cartons, plastic and glass bottles and jars. Materials are separated and then despatched to appropriate facilities for reprocessing.

As well as allowing a significant increase in the amount of materials that residents can recycle, the new facility makes recycling easier as residents will be able to place all recyclable items into a single container for collection.

Coun Anthony Blagg, responsible for waste and sustainability at Worcestershire County Council, commented: “We have been working closely with Herefordshire Council, the Worcestershire Districts and Severn Waste to ensure that we are able to offer residents a service that represents value for money and meets the challenging recycling and landfill avoidance targets.”

Coun John Jarvis, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member for the environment, believes EnviroSort will help improve the already “exceptionally high” standard of recycling in the county.

“The opening of this key facility marks the next stage in our programme to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and is a significant step forward in cutting the county's carbon footprint,” he said.

For more information visit envirosort.co.uk