TRIALS with real waste are due to start next month at a new waste treatment plant at Lostock Gralam.

Construction work is virtually complete at the Dong Energy plant, which will separate recyclable materials from household waste and generate green electricity at the same time.

The plant will use Dong Energy's patented REnescience technology, and will be the first full-scale bio plant in the world capable of handling household waste through enzymes, mechanical sorting and anaerobic digestion.

A company spokesman said: “We have now completed all the construction work on site, except for a few remaining items in the main building.

“Final landscaping work is taking place and we are putting the finishing touches to the main areas of the site.

“The temporary site cabins will be moved and the numbers reduced significantly to allow for the parking area and entrance to be finalised.

“We are focusing on the start date, when full operations will begin on site and we are currently undertaking final commissioning and testing activities.

“Once all of the plant has been commissioned we will start trials with real waste - this is currently planned to take place towards the end of June.

“REnescience is a safe, reliable technology that does not involve waste incineration. It uses enzymes, mechanical sorting and anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and generate approximately 5 MW of renewable electricity, as well as clean recyclable materials and other products.

“The plant will treat up to 120,000 tonnes of waste per year, equivalent to the waste from approximately 110,000 UK homes.

“The technology is very efficient at capturing organic materials and can help to increase recycling rates by extracting clean materials such as plastic bottles.

“Throughout construction of the plant, we have worked hard to forge relationships with the local community, keeping residents and businesses informed about progress.

“We are keen to continue this as we enter the operations phase - it is our aim to be a good neighbour and we want to ensure that we respond promptly to enquiries from the community.”