LONDON - Peterborough Renewable Energy Limited (PREL) has been granted approval to build a waste recycling and green power plant that could eliminate the need for landfill sites in the area, the government said on Wednesday.

PREL says its Energy Park in Peterborough could revolutionize waste management, by recycling mixed waste to produce re-usable glass, plastic and metal, while generating cleaner energy from burning recovered organic matter so nothing is left to waste.

This plant will provide reliable, low carbon energy for years to come, Energy and Climate Change Minister David Kidney said on approving the project.

The UK needs to generate 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and energy from biomass could contribute as much as a third of that.

PREL hopes its 80-megawatt power plant and recycling project -- which it estimates could keep 600,000 tonnes of climate-warming carbon dioxide per year out of the atmosphere and produce enough renewable energy to power 60,000 homes -- could be replicated across the country.

Waste can be a valuable resource and using it in a sustainable way will play an essential role in making our future more green, the company's managing director, Chris Williams, said.

The facility will group together mechanical recycling, food waste digestion, gasification, and plasma melting to avoid having to bury any waste.

The company says the plant will be able to turn an old computer into new roof tiles, glass and materials to make new computers.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren)

United kingdom Energy Renewable energy