Black Country business could be key to cleaning up brownfield land across the West Midlands
A process to clean up contaminated soil from brownfield land could help safeguard greenfield sites in the West Midlands from development, an MP has said.
Suzanne Webb said the technology used by Pegasus Grab Hire, based Bott Lane in Lye, could have "big implications" for the future of disused sites nationally.
The waste recycling company is a UK-first processing centre – with materials, such as contaminated soil, put through a screener to be filtered and separated out.
Chemicals are then used to separate out silt in the dirty water before further filtering. The waste is turned into concrete, which can go back to the developers for their use.
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The system can process up to 1,000 tons a day and could be used to remediate brownfield sites across the region – and cut down on the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Owner Tony Hall, originally from Halesowen, was visited at the Bott Lane site by Ms Webb, MP for Stourbridge, and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street to see how the process works.
Mr Hall said the material is washed and split into five primary aggregates which are normally used in the construction industry, with the contaminates from the original material removed.
Suzanne Webb, MP for Stourbridge, said: "This brilliant business is expanding, it now employs 250 people – many of them local – and it is one of the jewels in the crown in my constituency.
"It was really important for Andy to see what is being achieved in recycling by this company and how it could have big implications for developing brownfield sites, not only in the West Midlands, but across the whole country.
"My opposition to building on greenfields is well known. I would be delighted if this technology – based right here in Lye - was able to help brownfield first building policies across the nation."
Greenfield sites are pieces of land – which have not been designated as green belt – that have not been built upon previously, and are at risk from developers to meet housing needs nationally.
Meanwhile brownfield sites are pieces of land which have been used before and tends to be disused or derelict land, having been used previously for industrial or commercial purposes, of which there are numerous sites across the Black Country.
