Waste plant job frenzy

MORE than 350 people have applied for 40 jobs up for grabs at a new Dearne Valley waste plant — almost nine for every post.

The organisers of a recruitment open day for the new waste treatment facility being built at Manvers in Rotherham said more than 800 people had attended — and almost half put an application in.

The plant which will treat leftover household waste from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham instead of it being sent to landfill.

At the recruitment event held at Wath Library, jobseekers could find out more about the facility at Bolton Road, get information about the positions available and pick up an application form.

Jobs being created include Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) multi-skilled operators and supervisors, machinery operators and other roles.

The vast majority of the applicants are from Rotherham, followed by Barnsley, then Doncaster, with a handful from Sheffield and Wakefield, said a spokeswoman for the BDR Waste Partnership, which is overseeing the project.

The £750 million development will be commissioned early next year and be fully operational by July 2015.

The plant is being built by 3SE, a partnership of Shanks Group and SSE on behalf of the BDR Waste Partnership.

It will treat up to 265,000 tonnes per year of leftover household waste and a small amount of commercial waste from the three councils.

Shanks contracts director, Colin Fletcher, said: “We are delighted with the response, and particularly pleased that the vast majority of applicants are local people.

“These are permanent jobs coming to the Dearne Valley and we're looking forward to getting the full team in place.”