Staff and facilities are in place ready for the opening of the Border Control Posts operated by ABP at Immingham and Hull to keep the region at the forefront of trade with Europe. The posts have been built to Government specifications, and are fully equipped to handle a huge range of products. The team operating the BCPs is headed by Kerry Costello, who’s preparing for the end of the month opening when new Government requirements come into force for the biosecurity of trade with Europe. The Assistant Operations managers involved in running daily operations and managing the various inspection agencies and government bodies who will be working the units, have all come from within ABP. Kerry, who previously worked within the Humber’s safety team, has a background in setting up new operations and has relished the challenge to get the two buildings off the ground and operational. Simon Bird, Regional Director of the Humber ports, said: “We have worked very hard and committed millions of pounds of investment to deliver these two new state of the art border check posts. The Humber is a critical gateway to European and global markets – the UK’s largest by volume – and we’ve put the right resources in to manage them and provide customers with the options they need.” Kerry and her team haven’t been daunted by the high-profile nature of the BCPs and the difficulties of delivering high quality port operations in a complex government led context. They’ve rolled their sleeves up and taken the challenge on.” Kerry added: “My predecessor did a great job to get them to where we were at the start of the year and my team have picked up and completed the tasks in hand. Each relishing the challenge and bringing their ideas to the table in the process. “The level of communication between ABP and North East Lincolnshire Council Port Health and Hull and Goole Port Health Authority has been phenomenal. We’ve built up good relationships with the other regulatory bodies and ensured that communication has been clear. “We’ve run some live tests with Cabinet Office, Port Health Authority, and shipping lines which have all gone well so as to ensure systems and infrastructure all communicate behind the scenes.” The Border Control Posts at Immingham and Hull ports have been approved in line with GB legislation for carrying out checks on animals, animal products (meat, seafood, dairy), plants and plant products arriving through the ports. Border Force will also have a presence at both sites for custom checks and procedures. There are 17 bays in Immingham and seven in Hull and allow checks to be carried out in a safe and controlled environment.

Biffa, the waste management firm, has strengthened its Resources & Energy capability following the acquisition of a business that transforms residual waste into fuel. Biffa has acquired the entire share capital of Eco-Power Green Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of Eco-Power Environmental Ltd, along with a dormant plant in Hull and seven new members of staff. The plant has the capacity to produce more than 100,000 tonnes of solid recovered fuel (SRF) pellets each year from non-recyclable household waste. SRF pellets are a high quality, sustainable, alternative to fossil fuel used primarily by the cement industry. Biffa will recommission the plant over the next few months. Biffa’s Resources & Energy Division also transforms non-recyclable waste into renewable electricity for the grid, and organic compost for agriculture. Mick Davis, Biffa’s Chief Operating Officer, Resources & Energy, said: “The recommissioning of the pellet facility allows us to further diversify our capability to divert more difficult-to-deal-with wastes away from landfill and help reduce customers’ carbon footprint. “It’s an exciting opportunity for us to develop our expertise in the alternative fuels market and could potentially be a stepping stone to a broader strategy in this space.” Louis Calders, Eco-Power’s Group Commercial Director, said: “We are delighted to finally complete the sale. The acquisition of the business is testament to the vision, hard work and commitment of the Eco-Power team for the past seven years. “We believe that Biffa have all the necessary expertise and resources to take the business on to the next level and we wish them every success in doing so.”