The Bryn Pica Waste Management Facility (Rhondda Cynon Taf) produces renewable forms of electrical and heat energy along with processing significant volumes of segregated waste materials. Recycling operations result in the segregation and sale of a range of material resources, with an annual throughput in excess of 80,000 Tonnes. The development is part of a larger phased development, which includes the whole landfill site.

RCTCBC through their operator (Amgen Cymru) are working in partnership with Welsh Government to attract key recycling businesses to the region in order improve the local economy, increase the value of materials collected by the council and reduce the carbon footprint of recycling. To facilitate this, RCTCBC have sought to develop an ‘Eco Park’ on a site which forms part of the wider Bryn Pica Waste Management Facility landholding.

The scheme provides four commercial units, to attract closed loop recycling tenants, and to make use of the significant heat and power already generated on the adjacent Amgen site.

The site is located in proximity to protected landscapes of Brecon Beacons and Aberdare Park in an elevated position. The buildings are arranged to avoid a ‘fault line,’ with Units 1 & 2 and the Biomass facility located to the East, Units 3 & 4 located West, and car parking and a surface water lagoon to the South. As part of the design process, key views have been designated to ensure the development does not have a detrimental impact on the local scenery.

The scheme will set an example on how to decentralise energy demands and reduce the carbon footprint of waste management and recycling, whilst increasing economic output in the region.