Middlewich, England, UK: Following last month's announcement by Cheshire County Council of the shortlist of companies for the Waste Treatment Services PFI contract - the Mayor of Middlewich in Cheshire has hit out at non-recycling businesses.
Covanta waste management was left off the shortlist by Cheshire CC but still intends to go ahead with an energy from waste (Efw) plant at Middlewich. This means the company will be likely to accept a higher proportion of commercial waste for treatment at the facility, though it does also intend to reduce the capacity.
Mayor Paul Edwards wants companies to recycle more waste to reduce the need for the Middlewich incinerator which would be constructed at the Midpoint 18 Business Park, if planning consent is obtained.
The Mayor said:
"One of the things that I have picked up on is there is no incentive for industry to recycle, especially if they can now just incinerate it."
At the time of the Cheshire CC announcement, Covanta Managing Director Malcolm Chilton said:
“Naturally we are disappointed to find we are not among the companies selected by the County to continue with the tendering process.
“However, we are confident that our proposals are excellent, providing best value for money and reducing dependence on landfill. We intend to continue working on the environmental and traffic studies, and to submit a planning application later this year, as originally envisaged.”
The company is planning to construct an Energy-from-Waste (Efw) plant at the Midpoint 18 Business Park in Middlewich. The plant could handle all the County’s household waste that cannot be recycled or composted, according to Covanta - despite the fact that the company is not on the County Council's short list, though possibly preparing the ground for future potential business relationships.
As well as household waste, the plant would take non-recyclable commercial waste from local shops, offices and businesses. It is this element of commercial waste that has been referred to by the Mayor of Middlewich, particularly as this could form a significant proportion of the plant's feedstock.
Covanta has held a series of public consultation on its proposals, following which the company has reduced the capacity of the Efw facility from 450,000 tonnes to 390,000 tonnes per year which would enable the generation of 32MW of electricity.
Discounted electricity to nearby homes
An interesting and forward looking element of the proposal is that discounted electricity would be offered to 20,000 nearby homes. Coventa is also looking at the possibilty of providing the plant on a combined heat and power (CHP) basis by the provision of heat and power to local businesses.
Covanta Energy
Covanta Energy is an international energy from waste provider with over 20 years of experience in the industry. The company entered the UK market in 2005, based at Kingswinford, in the West Midlands.
The company claims to be the world’s largest supplier of Energy from Waste (EfW), operating 37 EfW plants worldwide and processing in excess of 15m tons of municipal waste each year.
Web site: http://www.covantaenergy.co.uk .