Savings and green energy mark new waste disposal and treatment contract

New arrangements for the disposal and treatment of waste in the Royal Borough will herald virtually the end of landfill tax for local residents and the beginning of a plan to generate electricity.

Today (Friday 27 January) the council announced its new 25-year contract with Covanta Energy to treat all of the borough's waste from November 2012. It will bring a raft of benefits for local residents as well as making a major contribution to the borough's commitment to sustainability.

The contract, which will bring annual savings of more than £1.5m a year for council taxpayers from 2016*, means:
• minimal waste sent to landfill - saving more than £400,000 a year in landfill tax
• waste that can't be recycled or reused will go to the proposed Rookery South Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) in Bedfordshire to generate energy which will be sold to the National Grid.

Green and organic waste - from gardens and leftover food from kitchens - will be treated by Covanta's organic waste partner, Agrivert Ltd, at its anaerobic digester and composting facilities in Oxfordshire where it will generate valuable energy and compost.

This arrangement will start in April 2012 and will be integrated with the council's refreshed and extended waste collection contract with Veolia Environmental Services Ltd. As a result of the council's determination to secure value for money for its residents there will be reduced processing costs.

Cllr Phill Bicknell, cabinet member for highways, transport and environment, said the contract heralded a new era for waste disposal for the borough.

He said: "Waste disposal is one of the borough's biggest bills and our approach to the contract negotiations was to nail down prices so that local council taxpayers will see tangible financial benefits over the next 25 years - and, importantly, find disposal solutions that provide alternatives to landfill that are workable, affordable and don't damage our environment.

"Our negotiations with Covanta have secured a really good deal for our residents, with immediate savings from April this year through using the Agrivert organic waste facilities. Then, in four years' time, we can look forward to negligible landfill tax when waste that can't be recycled is used to generate energy. This is an all-round winner."

Cllr Bicknell also said that the introduction of a new organic waste collection service with Veolia in the autumn would give local people even more opportunities to recycle and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Malcolm Chilton, Covanta Energy's UK managing director, said: "I am delighted that Covanta and our organic waste partners, Agrivert, have signed a long-term waste treatment contract with the Royal Borough.

"Covanta will provide a modern, proven and value-for-money waste management solution, which will save the authority and its residents millions of pounds by avoiding punitive landfill taxes. Importantly, Covanta and Agrivert's waste treatment solutions will also help the Royal Borough to continue increasing its recycling and composting rates in the future."

The Royal Borough produces some 45,000 tonnes of waste each year. The new contract means that up to 15,000 tonnes will go for composting and anaerobic digestion and the remaining waste will be processed at Covanta's proposed Rookery South RRF.

The borough's waste strategy continues to focus on minimising waste and maximising recycling; reducing consumption; affordability and value for money for local residents; and encouraging and incentivising sustainable behaviour.

The borough continues to provide a weekly waste collection and recycling service for local residents.

Notes:
*Between November 2012 and the completion of the new energy-from-waste plant the council will continue with its current landfill arrangements through Veolia, maintaining continuity and without any service disruption to residents.

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