Poor maintenance at incinerator leads to enforcement action

WasteNotts (Reclamation), operators of the Nottingham municipal waste incinerator, has received an enforcement notice and a formal warning from the Environment Agency. Known locally as the Eastcroft incinerator, the plant burns rubbish collected in and around Nottingham.

A bag filtration system was bypassed on two occasions for a total of 18 minutes on 18 April. A faulty temperature sensor triggered an automatic fire safety mechanism designed to protect the bag filters. The company notified the Agency of the release. A similar incident occurred in February.

The impact on air quality, through the release of particulate matter, was minor and short-term. The Agency said it is more concerned with the cause of the incident, which it identifies as failings in the company’s maintenance system.

The notice requires WasteNotts to reduce the likelihood of the bypass system opening incorrectly and to comprehensively review the maintenance programme for its flue gas treatment system. A report on the incident, with deadlines for implementing improvements, must be submitted by the end of June.