An energy company has recovered one million megawatts of energy from waste.

The EnviRecover Energy from Waste site in Hartlebury has achieved the milestone by processing waste that would have otherwise been sent to landfill.

Since its opening, the company has generated enough energy to power nearly 40,000 homes each year.

Read more: Evesham Golf Club burglary: Thieves take 50 trophies

County councillors and representatives from FCC Environment and Severn Waste Services, who manage the plant, gathered on Friday, September 13 to commemorate the achievement by planting a tree on the site.

The site processes around 210,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste annually, which is the equivalent to the weight of over three million full large wheelie bins.

This waste is sourced from residents and commercial enterprises across Worcestershire and Herefordshire and is converted into energy that is sold back to the National Grid.

Councillor Emma Stokes, Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for environment, said: "The presence of the facility in the county has a number of positive benefits: reducing waste being sent to landfill, producing power, and providing jobs."

The site, which provides around 40 permanent jobs, has been operational for seven years, diverting waste from landfill and converting it into energy.

Councillor Elissa Swinglehurst, Herefordshire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for environment, said: "Since the facility opened seven years ago, our county has seen many benefits of EnviRecover.

"The amount of waste that is sent to landfill has drastically decreased as even the non-recyclable materials are able to be put to good use by being processed at EnviRecover to produce energy benefit to society as a whole."

Severn Waste Services, the public face of resident-collected waste management in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, operates the site for Mercia Waste Management.

Steve Longdon, chief executive of FCC Environment, said: "We are extremely proud to have reached this very significant milestone.

"EnviRecover has been diverting waste from landfill for seven years and converting to energy is a real achievement for the residents of H and W."