APPROVAL has been given for a waste oil recycling centre to be built in Poole, just outside Wellington.

The proposal caused some concern because waste management firm Viridor will include some hazardous materials in the oil it processes.

Viridor will collect oil-bearing materials from all over the Westcountry for what it called a ‘regionally significant’ development.

Up to 20,000 litres of liquids or 5,000 tonnes of solids a year will be processed in the recycling plant to be built next to the company’s Poole household waste recycling centre.

Tetra Tech planning consultant Will Ryan said on behalf of Viridor the recycling facility would make a ‘modest yet important contribution’ toward tackling climate change.

Somerset County Council granted planning permission with conditions restricting the operation of the plant to between 6am and 6pm on weekdays and 6am to noon on Saturdays.

The news followed a recent decision by the county council to approve Viridor’s plans for a methane stripping plant on the same plot at Poole which will extract the greenhouse gas from a now-disused landfill site adjoining it.