An interim waste treatment contract for Leicestershire has been won by Lafarge Aggregates which is to provide an MBT solution with residues going to landfill.

The Lafarge contract, which is still subject to planning permission, comes as Leicestershire county council embarks on its procurement programme for a PFI-backed facility to treat 180,000 tonnes of waste a year .

Under the interim award, Lafarge will provide an enclosed recycling and composting treatment facility at its existing Cotesbach landfill site. This will use technology supplied by New Earth Solutions and will see Lafarge, under a five-year contract, treat at least 30,000 - and possibly up to 50,000 - tonnes per year from as early as 2009.

MBT and landfill: Lafarge Aggregates is to develop a plant at its Cotesbach site

The county council hopes that the facility will let it meet its 2009/10 and 2012/13 landfill diversion targets although the plant is not expected to be operational until 2009/10.

Leicstershire cabinet member for waste, Nick Rushton, said: "We are committed to the green agenda and we want to avoid dumping waste in landfill sites whenever we can.  We don't mind paying a bit more if it reduces the amount of landfill, which potentially causes greenhouse gases."

Using the New Earth mechanical biological treatment process, the county council said that "any waste that can be recycled is taken out and then most of the organic material is removed in the enclosed composting system. The organic end product can then be used to restore the landfill site.  However, there is still a need to landfill elements of the waste which are unsuitable for treatment."

Andrew Bate, Lafarge general manager for waste disposal and recycling said: "This technology is tried and tested elsewhere in the country.  The innovative process provides the double benefit of assisting the county council in diverting waste from landfill and producing a by-product which we can then use to enhance the restoration of the landfill site to agriculture, nature conservation and public amenity."

PFI procurement

Leicestershire has put in its proposal to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a treatment facility contract to handle 180,000 tonnes of waste, allowing for a 58% recycling and composting rate by 2017 (see letsrecycle.com story). While the Lafarge project involves MBT, the county has broadly come out in favour of an energy from waste plant, potentially to be built in Whetstone, because MBT residues still have to be burnt or disposed of.

The EfW solution was identified as the favoured option for the authority's reference project which goes to Defra for the PFI submissions. The county said: "Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) was viewed as the main alternative to EfW, with other new technologies currently having a limited track record of operating on a commercial scale within the UK."

However, no technology will be specified in the PFI process and all options officially remain open. Procurement could start in September 2008 with a contract award programmed for May 2010. Construction is anticipated to commence on a two and a half-year programme in April 2012 completing in September 2014.

From May 2010 to April 2012, the contractor will prepare prepare a planning submission and obtain planning permission for the plant with it becoming operational by April 2015.