The government is examining the use of incinerator bottom ash in building industry supplies.

The incinerator produces between 10,000 and 11,000 tonnes or incinerator bottom ash (IBA) per year.

Ferrous material is removed and the remaining ash taken to Old Turkeyland Quarry. Any remaining metal was removed and the ash stored on a sealed hard-standing to allow it to mature or stabilise.

After that, the ash was crushed and deposited in the quarry.

’The department has undertaken preliminary investigations into the possible use of the IBA as a secondary aggregate in road building or construction blocks,’ Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer told Tynwald this week. ’Due to licence restrictions, only primary bottom ash could be considered for this purpose.

’Although not comprehensive, the initial results indicate that there are limited opportunities for use of IBA for groundworks due to the chemistry of Isle of Man soils.’

He added: ’There may be opportunities for further recovery of non-ferrous metals or its use as a construction aggregate. All options will be considered.’