New recycling facility plans unveiled for town’s former food processing site

New recycling facility plans unveiled for town’s former food processing site

Plans to build a new recycling facility in a town’s former food processing site have been unveiled.

Essex Waste Limited has applied to Suffolk County Council to build a new materials recycling facility (MRF) at Stour Business Park, in Little Wratting, near Haverhill.

The site, forming part of the former Karro Foods processing complex, would be used to manage about 50,000 tonnes of commercial waste per year.

Equipment would include new excavators, crushers, screeners and a wash plant.

A planning statement on behalf of Essex Waste said the company had seen a significant enough increase in demand in Suffolk to justify a new MRF.

The new facility would create between 30 and 40 full-time jobs, including HGV drivers, office staff and site operatives, which the company said would be prioritised for local people.

According to planning documents, the facility would generate no more than 40 two-way HGV trips on weekdays, and 20 trips during reduced hours on Saturdays.

In turn, the new operations would reduce the haulage distance for waste arriving in Haverhill by 20 miles, the equivalent of a two-hour round trip.

All HGVs would be washed down before leaving the site.

If approved, the site would operate between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, and up to 1pm on Saturdays – it would be closed on Sundays and public holidays.

A consultation on the plans is ongoing and available on Suffolk County Council’s website.