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| Artists impression of the Four Ashes facility |
Warwickshire County Council has announced the signing of a partnership
contract which it claims will save taxpayers across four local
authorities more than £400 million over 25 years by converting waste to energy.
Four local authorities including Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Sandwell
and Walsall -located in the West Midlands area of the UK - are aiming
to achieve the target of sending zero waste to landfill by 2020. The
partners have formally linked up to sign an official agreement to
support a Staffordshire County Council contract which will see a
multi-million pound investment by Veolia Environmental Services (UK) in
a Waste to Energy (WtE) plant.
Veolia will run the facility at Four Ashes in Staffordshire as part of
a 25 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI).
The partnership approach of the project played a key part in securing
£122.4 million in funding from the Government. The plant, scheduled to
be in operation by autumn 2013, will heat water into steam which is
used to generate enough power for more than 32,000 homes.
It is estimated that the plant will save Warwickshire taxpayers £65
million over the length of the contract compared to current costs. Its
processing costs are exempt from Landfill Tax which is set to rise
to £80 per tonne by 2014.
Councillor Alan Cockburn, portfolio holder for environment and economy
at Warwickshire County Council said: ?I am delighted to officially
announce this formal link up with three neighbouring authorities by
signing this money saving contract. For the first time Warwickshire
County Council will be paid for producing electricity.?
"This type of facility is a safe, efficient and modern way of treating
waste that cannot be reused, recycled or composted. It also has the
additional benefits of generating energy in the form of electricity and
moving us towards our target of sending zero waste to landfill."
concluded Cockburn.
Staffordshire County Council vice chairman Frank Lewis added: "By
working together we can deliver even greater saving for the tax payer
across four counties. It is great to have Warwickshire on board."
