Morgan Sindall cleans up with £32m waste facility completion in Walsall
Morgan Sindall Construction has officially handed over the £32 million Walsall Waste Transfer Station and Household Recycling Centre on Middlemore Lane to Walsall Council.
Procured through Pagabo’s Major Works Framework, the project plays a key role in Walsall Council's strategy to modernise and enhance local waste management services, allowing the area to recycle a wider selection of waste than currently possible. The facilities are crucial to meet local and national waste management objectives.
Constructed on a six-hectare site, formerly occupied by McKechnie Brass Ltd, the facilities will open to the public in Autumn 2025, ready to boost Walsall’s service capacity, reduce queues, and introduce a reuse shop to divert items from landfills.
Morgan Sindall delivered a high-capacity facility designed to process up to 40,000 tonnes of waste annually across 19 bays, each equipped with two skips. Built for efficiency and future growth, the site supports Walsall’s move away from landfill through advanced waste separation and spare processing capacity.
Alongside the Household Waste Recycling Centre and Waste Transfer Station, Morgan Sindall delivered weighbridges, service yards, odour control ventilation systems, and office and welfare facilities – ensuring accurate waste tracking, and a safe, comfortable environment for staff and visitors.
A reuse shop with a workshop area has also been incorporated into the site, further enhancing its functionality and community benefit.
Walsall Council has invested in a £1 million complex odour control system within the project, passing all smells through a bank of six containers. Dust is also controlled by a high efficiency filtration system with the risk of fire controlled and reduced via an automated water-mist system.
In line with Morgan Sindall’s commitment to sustainability, the team implemented the 10 Tonne Challenge across the project, encouraging teams to work with consultants and suppliers to cut at least 10 tonnes of carbon from the construction process. The initiative saved 354 tonnes of carbon – far exceeding the target. Key measures included using 60% EAF-manufactured steel and reducing peninsular concrete.
Morgan Sindall also used GAIA Automate, an advanced energy management system designed to optimise power usage on construction sites, which resulted in the reduction of emissions on site by 80%. Additionally, 98% of waste was also diverted from landfill throughout construction.
To create a positive social impact, Morgan Sindall sourced 69% of its workforce locally, hiring operatives from within a 20-mile radius of the site. The team also supported future talent by recruiting 19 apprentices and five graduates on site, and by hosting nine school visits to offer students hands-on experience in the construction industry.
In total, the project generated £753,000 in social value, including donations of winter essentials to Walsall Outreach and approximately £12K raised for Acorns Children’s Hospice through metal recycling with EMR.
Ahead of construction, Morgan Sindall used lime, recycled GGBS, and cement stabilisation to re-engineer site soils and effectively manage surface water, applying its Intelligent Solutions approach to overcome these ground challenges.
Richard Fielding, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the Midlands, said:
It’s an incredible achievement to handover these key facilities to Walsall Council. At Morgan Sindall, sustainability is core to everything we do, so it makes us proud to deliver a project that will actively contribute to landfill diversion, increased recycling rates, and an overall cleaner borough for Walsall’s residents.
Through our commitment to delivering social value and supporting the next generation of construction professionals, we’ve built a lasting connection with the local community and very much look forward to continuing our relationship with Walsall Council in future.”
Kathryn Moreton, Director of Place & Environment at Walsall Council, said:
This project is a huge development for Walsall. What has been delivered here is truly a state-of-the-art facility, which will prove vital in ensuring we can continue to accommodate the waste demands we face in the Borough.
No project of this size comes without challenges but working with Morgan Sindall has been seamless throughout. It’s been fabulous watching the plans come into reality.”
ENDS