Kidderminster’s Lawrence Group today held the official launch of the Forge Recycling plant in the Stourport Road. The launch is the culmination of several years’ work by Lawrence Group, who’s distinctive red skips are a familiar sight around the region.
The Forge Recycling plant, with five acres under roof and a main bay that is big enough to hold the Titanic, is believed to be the biggest recycling plant in Europe, and has a recycling capacity of 250,000 tonnes of waste every year.
David Cameron visited the plant when it was still derelict having been in disuse for a number of years. That was back in 2007 and David Lawrence and his team have struggled against incredibly difficult economic conditions to achieve a world class result.
Mark Garnier attended the official launch with over 100 other guests. Speaking after, he said: “There is so much about this that is excellent. David Lawrence has recycled the old Folkes Forge building into a new, world class facility. In so doing has put Kidderminster on the map as a leading area for recycling, and his plans include expanding the operations to include a number of different types of recycling, be it industrial, building or household waste, as well as exploring energy production and undertaking research into news ways of recycling. And on top of all this, he has created up to 120 new jobs locally when the facility is at full strength. All of this to deliver a service that is helping our environment.
“This is an incredible achievement and is one that I have been delighted to have been following since its inception two or three years ago. I am proud to be able to support this in any way that I can.”