HAVE you ever thought about what happens to the turkey trimmings or wrapping rubbish that you throw away after Christmas?

For households across Oxfordshire it is collected and taken to the Ardley Energy Recovery Facility, near Bicester, where it is sorted, incinerated and converted into electricity.

Staff at the site are currently experiencing an influx of Christmas cast-offs including turkeys, trees and wrapping paper which will join the tonnes of rubbish taken to the incinerator day in, day out.

This month the Ardley plant – run by Viridor – marked one million tonnes of residual waste since opening in 2014, the equivalent of 450 Olympic-sized pools full of rubbish.

The mountain of waste dumped from households and collected by the incinerator makes up 95 per cent of the county's waste, which would otherwise have gone to landfill.

The energy generated by the incineration of rubbish at the incinerator is enough to power 38,000 homes each year.

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for environment, Yvonnne Constance, said: "I am delighted to see the Ardley Energy Recovery Facility reach this milestone.

"The service this facility provides in converting waste produced by the residents of Oxfordshire into valuable electricity is excellent.

"I look forward to continuing to work with Viridor to maximise even further the environmental benefits the energy recovery facility brings, particularly energy generation."

Construction of the incinerator started next to the landfill site on November 16, 2011, with the first waste received at the site on June 5, 2014.

In April that year Viridor had announced the closure of the landfill site after 35 years, so that the non-recyclable waste could be used as an energy from waste resource instead.

The Ardley plant produces can export up to 27MW per hour of electricity to the grid.

Viridor managing director of major contracts Chris Jonas said the company was proud to recognise this 'landmark moment'.

He added: "Viridor and Oxfordshire County Council share a goal of recycling first and taking the residual waste – that which cannot be recycled – and giving it a new purpose.

"In this case, this was achieved by transforming the non-recyclable waste into renewable energy and diverting more than 95 per cent from landfill.

"We have also created an award-winning education centre where future generations are taught the value of recycling and the vital role it plays in partnership with renewable energy.

"It is here that many people hear about the waste hierarchy – and the need to reduce, reuse, recycle and recover – for the first time."

The Ardley Energy Recovery Facility hosts tours for people from across the county to learn about the incineration process and see behind the scenes at the incinerator.

For more details or to book see viridor.co.uk