Dudley waste plant planned close to rubbish mound site

The application for a non-hazardous waste transfer station on Shaw Road, Dudley, has been submitted to the council by MT Skips.

It comes as the Environment Agency continues its battle to remove the tower of rubbish, which has become a notorious eyesore in the borough.

This huge pile of rubbish, estimated to total 3,000 tons, is just half a kilometre from Dudley town centre, and visible to motorists travelling along the bypass.

On the other side of Shaw Road, inside the Dudley Central Trading Estate, is the 2,100 sq m application site which is currently being used for the storage of skips and materials.

MT Skips wants to adapt the site's use to turn it into a transfer station and material recycling centre.

This would be housed in a purpose-designed building, containing a trommel that is capable of separating heavy materials such as soils and bricks from smaller wastes.

These are then passed through a picking station where cardboard, metals, plastics and glass can be extracted.

The application states: "The use of the site for non-hazardous waste transfer is in accord with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Local Plan, policies and the Black Country Core Strategy.

"The provision of waste management facilities should make a positive contribution to improving the environment."

The plant would be expected to handle up to 250 tons per hour, with the site accepting up to 40 vehicle movements per day and 75,000 tons of waste per annum. However, the application does not state whether the new waste facility would have a role in helping clear the nearby rubbish heap.

Surrounding residents have expressed their dismay at this ugly mountain of trash, abandoned by Rowan Oak Waste Services Ltd.

This company has been stripped of its right to operate by the Environment Agency, but the pile of waste remains and officers are still determining what legal action to take.

Environment officer Steve Rogers said: "The investigation is progressing but we are unable to give any indication of when this may be concluded.

"Timescales vary in every investigation and we're unable to release additional information, as this may jeopardise any potential future legal aspects of this investigation.

"Alongside this we are considering our enforcement response but are unable to give any further details at this stage."

It was only in November that the last scraps of rubbish were finally removed from the former RDF site in Brierley Hill, following a seven-year fight which saw company director Robert McNaughton jailed for failing to remove it, and left the landowner with a hefty £2 million clean-up bill.