A WASTE firm’s two-year travails to correct problems at its green recycling centre looked to be at an end last night after it won Government approval to restart operations.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has given its approval for work to re-start at Premier Waste Management’s Premier Advanced Recycling Centre (Parc) facility in Thornley, County Durham.

The Environment Agency has also given permission for Premier, based at Aykley Heads, Durham City, to use the bio-compost the facility produces in landfill restoration works at its Joint Stocks site in Coxhoe.

It is the first time the centre will have operated commercially since problems arose in 2008 and Premier said it had made a substantial investment in sorting them out.

Parc uses a natural composting process to convert biodegradable materials in household waste into a compost-like material which can then be used as an enhancement to poor-quality soil. The Parc process also separates out metals, glass and plastic which can then be recycled, diverting up to 75 per cent of waste from landfill.

The centre started operations in 2007, but the following year Premier closed the facility after a problem with its temperature monitoring system meant it could not guarantee that the materials had been treated properly.

For the compost-like material to be spread it must have been exposed to temperatures of at least 70c for at least one hour.

Premier last night said it had worked closely with both Defra and the Environment Agency, using independent consultants and its own scientific advisory group, to implement “significant” improvements in the design and operation of the plant.

Ashley Cooper, divisional managing director at Premier, said: “We have implemented process developments to improve and enhance the performance of Parc, and we are pleased that Defra and the Environment Agency, having issued the necessary authorisations, have confirmed that these enable the plant to fully meet all regulatory requirements.

The Parc system reflects the company’s principle that waste is a valuable resource and we are committed to ensuring that this technology delivers the highest quality reusable products possible.

We are therefore pleased to be in a position to move the technology forward.

“We believe that Parc provides an environmentallyfriendly waste management process which recovers value from solid household waste.”

Premier is now authorised to operate all three Parc towers in Thornley, treating up to 60,000 tonnes a year of unsorted domestic waste.