Worcester, England: An energy from waste plant could be back in the frame at Worcestershire, as the leader of the County Council supports thermal waste treatment at a recent meeting of the Council.
Expressing a personal preference, Cllr George Lord, felt that incineration was the long term solution for the area and the best way of diverting waste from landfill, though he acknowledged that there were no plans in place currently.
Energy from waste (Efw) is coming back into favour nationally, as it is realised that thermal treatment has a part to play in integrated waste management strategies that also maximise recycling. Recently, a report for the Scottish Government said that Efw may be compatible with sustainable development under the right conditions (See MoreThanWaste Article).
However rather than burning waste, the Council got its fingers burnt five years ago when plans to construct an incinerator at Kidderminster were rejected amidst considerable public protest against the proposal at the time.
This effectively threw the waste strategy for the area, together with the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Pathfinder PFI contract, off the rails.
The integrated waste management PFI contract was signed in December 1998 with Mercia, the company set up to run it.
Under the contract, Mercia applied for planning consent for the Kidderminster energy from waste (Efw) plant and appealed the decision when this was rejected. The appeal itself was rejected in July 2002.
Events nationally also affected the contract with the introduction nationally of statutory targets for recycling and the requirement for diversion of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill.
The contract with Mercia was continued and in 2004 the Council set out a new way forward to achieve the statutory requirements of central government. A technology new to the waste industry was taken on board as Estech, with its Autoclave technology, was invited to become a sub-contractor to Mercia.
Two sites were identified for the new autoclaves at Hartlebury in Worcestershire and at Madeley in Herefordshire and planning consents obtained.
In December 2006 negotiations between Estech and Herefordshire and Worcestershire appeared to have failed and the Councils decided to explore alternatives. At the time little information came from Hereford and Worcester on the reasons for the halting of discussions.
On the face of it, all options still seem to be open for the treatment of municipal waste in the area with the prospect of energy from waste rising sharply up the Agenda, if the Council leader’s view is anything to go by.