Why are Didcot not Recycling their Ash?
We believe that Didcot should recycle much more of their ash, as they have continually been promising to do since 1981. Didcot, we believe, recycles less than half of its ash production. In Germany they recycle about 95%. A contributory factor in all this is the absence of the 500,000 cu.m dry ash bund that was supposed to have been constructed on the site of Didcot Power Station in the 1980s. At that time, the CEGB argued that this facility was an essential part of the ash disposal operations at Radley, as it would allow stockpiling of PFA for recycling and permit proper regulation of ash pumping to Radley. However, this ash bund was subsequently lost, we are told, as a result of the construction of Didcot B’. The extension of the operating life of Didcot A’ without this stockpiling facility was a major planning oversight that has contributed greatly to the current problem, and meant that much more ash has been pumped to Radley in recent years than should have been. We think RWE Npowe
