Watch: Work is continuing at the site of a new waste facility in West Bromwich

The 10,000sq m energy recovery facility is being built at Giffards Recycling, off Kelvin Way.

Energy-from-waste company Enfinium was given the green light to plough forward with the new Kelvin facility in September 2019. Existing buildings on the site were demolished. 

The idea is that, when the waste facility is open and operational, it will convert approximately 350,000 tonnes of non-recyclable household and business waste into electricity - enough to power 95,000 homes every year.

The energy facility will process and convert waste into high-pressure steam, which would then be de-pressurised to produce electricity.

Over £500m has been invested into the project which is expected to be complete and operational at the end of the year.

The facility is set to bring 40 jobs to the area and hopes to hire as many local residents as possible.

A design statement submitted with the application back in 2017 said the site would operate 24/7 but that waste deliveries from lorries would be restricted to between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and 7pm and 1pm on Saturdays.

There would be no deliveries on Sundays, it added.

A total of 168 vehicles would enter and leave the site every weekday, according to the plans.

Planning agents said the facility would provide an ‘iconic and positive addition to the local area’ and the building would ‘create a landmark structure for people travelling along the M5 motorway’.

Simon Forshaw, enfinium’s Vice President Engineering and Construction, said: “Since breaking ground on site in 2021, we have made good progress constructing a state-of-the-art, £500 million facility. Once operational, Kelvin will divert 395,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste away from climate damaging landfill, produce reliable homegrown power for more than 95,000 homes and support around 40 jobs.”