New plan 'to divert power station ash from landfills'

The Environment Agency and Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap) have this week launched a new consultation on the re-use of ashes from power generation.

Funded by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, the consultation explores methods of increasing the use of ashes in the construction industry to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by millions of tonnes.

It has been launched via the Waste Protocols project, a joint initiative from Wrap and the Environment Agency.

It aims to reduce the environmental impact and increase the marketability of these materials to make it easier to market furnace bottom ash and pulverised fuel ash.

Martin Brocklehurst, head of environment protection and external programmes at the Environment Agency, said: "We have worked closely with industry to develop this Quality Protocol to ensure it meets their needs, while continuing to protect the environment."

He added that the body is now keen to gain input from wider stakeholders on this issue.

The Waste Protocols Project is working on a number of different types of waste, including anaerobic digestate, blast furnace slat, processed fuel oil, soil and wood waste, among others.