In March, year 12 Environmental Science students attended Gloucestershire Energy from Waste facility. They listened to a presentation by the company about the history of the site and how the facility operates to dispose of 190,000 tonnes of waste each year. 

It was interesting to see the trucks off loading their rubbish in the 'bunker' that holds 30 tonnes of waste. Many interesting questions were asked about the bunker, including how much recyclable material ends up being incinerated and how they would spot a body in amongst the waste!

Students got a' behind the scenes' tour of the facility- they even were allowed entry to the control room. They witnessed the waste being incinerated in temperatures over 850°C and viewed the technology used to 'clean' the gases produced by the process and how electricity is generated from the thermal energy emitted by the burning waste. 

Laura Thomson

Head of Environmental Science