Blaise Farm, Kent
 • 50,000 tonnes per year capacity
• Processing green garden waste and
household kitchen waste
• Serving the residents of South West
Kent as part of a 15 year contract
• £5m investment
• Operational mid 2007
• Planning Permission granted June
2006
Kent county council has signed a contract with composting newcomers New Earth Solutions to process 50,000 tonnes of green and food waste each year.
The company, which specialises in active enclosed composting facilities, has been scouting around North West Kent to secure a new site for the contract. New Earth has a research and development site in Poole, Dorset, which is currently being expanded to a 50,000 tonne annual capacity.
 Kent county council currently collects about 7,000 tonnes of green waste each year, but is planning to boost its collections of garden waste and take in food waste from the end of 2006.
Under the contract with New Earth, the material will go through an enclosed forced aerated windrow system, which sees material turned 24 hours a day. The system is expected to produce a high quality material which will be used for regeneration activities within the Thames Gateway in London.
The contract will be managed by the former Onyx composting manager Peter Mills.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Mr Mills said: "I had been watching them for a few years and we seemed to have the same ideas and ambitions. The company wants to build a number of speculative facilities around the UK.
"We are also tendering for an 80,000 tonne composting contract for Kent," he added.
Residuals
The company is also interested in taking food waste from businesses, as well as black bin waste. Mr Mills said: "We are open to trying different materials at the Poole site and are currently doing some tests for the Environment Agency on the stability of residual waste going through the system."
He said the European Union's decision to scrap a ban on former foodstuffs going to landfill will not dent New Earth's ambitions. "We are of the view that within the next few years retailers will want to put more material through composting facilities anyway, because of the Landfill Tax."
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