Ashford Clinical Incinerator

Clinical Waste Incinerator operated by Stericycle (SRCL) Ltd and located adjacent to The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.

Ashford Clinical Incinerator
Site Location See HT & Clin → page for a larger UK Wide map.
Waste Licence	HP3230XA
Operator	SRCL
Operational Capacity	8,500tpa
Number of Lines	1
Region	South East

Annual Report Data

Year	Total In	Total Clinical	IBA Out	ACP Out	Op Hours
2019	8059	8059	792	486	8015
2018
2017
2020	8013	8013	758	595	8072
2021	8209	8209	799	631	8060
2022	7856	7596	829	577	7150

Ashford Clinical Incinerator, SRCL - Google Aerial Picture Captured June 21, all rights reserved

Summary

Clinical Waste Incinerator operated by Stericycle (SRCL) Ltd and located adjacent to The William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent.

The Ashford plant incinerates clinical waste, including clinical wastes classed as hazardous under the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005. The bulk of the waste is produced at hospitals, but also includes smaller quantities from doctors’ surgeries, dentists, health clinics, residential and nursing homes, and from medical research facilities. The hazardous wastes incinerated include infectious waste and waste containing cytotoxic or cytostatic medicines. The plant also incinerates small amounts of specialised wastes where it is recognised that high temperature incineration represents the best disposal option.

Plant

The Incinerator is designed to process 1000 kilograms per hour. The incinerator is of stepped hearth design, with three main combustion hearth and an ash box. Healthcare Wastes are loaded mechanically direct from the wheeled bins used to deliver the waste. The waste is charged onto the first hearth where the combustion process commences. Hydraulic rams operate at intervals to push the waste along the first hearth, until it falls off the end onto the second hearth where it burns vigorously at a temperature of between 850°C and 1000°C, where it burns out to produce an ash. This [[Incinerator Bottom Ash|bottom ash] and any remaining part-combusted waste is then pushed along the hearth, where the fixed carbon in the ash is further burned out. The residues are then dropped into an ash pit the end of the process.

The flue gases from the incineration process are passed through a secondary chamber, or afterburner, where any gaseous products of combustion are burned out under oxygen rich conditions. This stage is designed to destroy any carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and dioxins and furans produced by the combustion process.

The flue gases are then cooled by directing them through a waste-heat boiler before they pass into the abatement section of the process. Powdered lime and powdered activated carbon are added to the flue gases entering the abatement process to remove acid gases, heavy metals and residual dioxins and furans before discharge to atmosphere from the stack. The flue gases being discharged from the stack are continuously monitored.

The incineration process produces two residues; bottom ash and spent lime.

Waste Tonnage, By Origin

The table shows a list of the Waste for the Permit HP3230XA, that has arrived into sites as reported to the Regulator and then publicised in their reported statistics. The Data used is from the most recent returns. The total reported tonnage arriving at the site was: t. Where this tonnage exceeds that reported in year of the corresponding annual report, this may be due to the following reasons:

• Tonnage may have been received but not incinerated, i.e. the material is held pending incineration (the operator return to the EA reports as received whereas the annual report focuses on when the waste is incinerated.)
• Material may have been received into the site but treated in some other way than incineration.
• Material may have been received on the but transferred out of site for disposal/treatment at another site rather than incineration on the site.

EWC Code	Origin of Waste	Tonnes In