HAMPSHIRE waste management company Veolia welcomed the public to an open day to see its work in action at Chineham.

The gates were opened at the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) near Basingstoke.

Each year, Chineham’s ERF processes around 102,000 tonnes of household waste collected from homes across Hampshire, transforming it into enough energy for the National Grid to power more than 10,000 homes.

'Wonder Day' visitors came to find out how this is done and how everyone can reduce their environmental impact.

Alongside a guided tour of the ERF, Wonder Day visitors were entertained with a range of activities with staff from all parts of the facility on hand to answer questions. Visitors were able to see the new haulage vehicle and spent time in the control room where staff use a ‘grab’ to lift tonnes of waste from a bunker to be incinerated.

Chineham is one of ten ERFs operated by Veolia in the UK which currently transform 2.3 million tonnes of non-recyclable waste into electricity for the National Grid each year.

Mark Gray, general manager, Veolia Hampshire, said: “We’re delighted to have welcomed so many people back to our facility - Veolia’s Wonder Day is a wonderful opportunity for the public to witness our state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facility

“The Wonder Day marks a celebration of the network of facilities that we have developed in 170 years of Veolia’s rich history. It also highlights the dedication of our frontline colleagues.  The feedback received from visitors was overwhelmingly positive - a credit to all involved in making the event a resounding success. We look forward to hosting more Wonder Open Days at our Portsmouth facility soon.”

Cllr Nick Adams-King, executive lead member for universal services at Hampshire County Council, said: "Wonder Days are a fantastic opportunity for us all to learn about the science and mechanics behind the process of converting non-recyclable waste into electricity – an amazing technological innovation.

"Days like this are also a chance to highlight the scale of waste that needs to be dealt with in Hampshire – rubbish that we all generate in our daily lives.

“We are fortunate to benefit from innovative solutions like energy recovery which, together with a successful network of household waste recycling facilities, means that less than five per cent of Hampshire’s domestic waste ends up in landfill. Nonetheless, to avoid landfill still further, everyone must take even more seriously the important need to recycle as much of our household waste as possible - the less waste that has to go to landfill or energy recovery, the kinder we are being to our environment and the more of a contribution we are making to tackling climate change.”