06 May 2008
Transport and Technical Services (TTS) is employing a specialist contractor with a novel way of working to undertake the essential repair work that is required at the Energy from Waste plant (EFW) starting on Liberation Day and causing a four day closure of the plant.
Closing the EfW for any period of time would obviously cause inconvenience to the public either directly through not being able to make personal deliveries, or indirectly through the Parish and business refuse collections. Transport and Technical Services has sought to keep this inconvenience to a minimum by choosing a specialist ‘industrial rope access engineering’ contractor who can undertake the work in just four days. This means the team will carry out the work while suspended on a rope system within the EfW plant. The alternative method would require scaffolding and would mean the plant would be closed for at least four weeks.
TTS has also timed this £130,000 project when there is lower usage, over Liberation day and the weekend, with only one working weekday, on Monday, being affected by the closure. The work will be undertaken by teams working round the clock in shifts from 6pm on Thursday 8 May until 6am on Tuesday 13 May. They will also undertake two repair projects during this time to make best use of the closure.
The plant experienced a major structural problem last November and a survey was undertaken to determine the extent of the problem. Essential works were identified requiring repair as soon as possible to avoid a catastrophic failure forcing the EfW to close for months. This kind of failure would end up being far more costly in terms of repair and in implementing emergency plans for dealing with the build up of waste generated by the Island on a daily basis.
The EfW is now 28 years old and well past its recommended lifespan of 25 years. In the last few years it has been experiencing more and more problems as can only be expected from such an old plant. Last year was particularly bad and the Department ended up with 10,000 tonnes of stockpiled waste which the incinerator was unable to cope with due to breakdowns. The cost of the repair works also put severe pressure on budgets and funds had to be diverted from other planned projects to pay for them. This year, the department will have to spend an additional £630,000 to keep the plant operational. This situation is likely to continue and may even worsen until the new Energy from Waste Plant, which is to be located at La Collette, is built to replace the Bellozanne plant. If the States approve the tender on schedule in July then the new plant will be up and running by 2011.
During the four day shutdown, crane beams that have suffered metal fatigue will be replaced. These beams support the crane which grabs the waste from the reception bunker and transfers the waste down the chute to the incinerator. At the same time, the wall of the bunker will also have to be repaired where years of wear and tear have caused the concrete blocks in the wall to split and move.
Although the Bellozanne site cannot receive any waste after close of work on Thursday 8 May and until 7.30am Tuesday 13 May, the Recycling Centre will be in normal operation during the usual opening hours.
gov.je