As part of the West of England Partnership with South Gloucestershire and North Somerset, the council is set to submit a joint Outline Business Case for around £80 million in PFI support at the end of October using energy-from-waste as its reference technology (see letsrecycle.com story).
We will not be able to get out of this unpopular plan due to the lack of sensible cost to get out of it, especially when you consider the introduction of the landfill allowance escalator
Cllr Gary Hopkins, Liberal Democrats
This has prompted criticism from the city's Liberal Democrat party – who are vocally opposed to the development of an energy-from-waste facility and fear that if incineration technology is used and there is a change of heart or leadership at the council, it could still be locked into developing the technology because it has signed an “indemnity clause” which could force it to pay millions of pounds in compensation to the other councils if it pulled out.
However, Bristol insists that the partnership is yet to name its preferred technology and has stated that “the best solution will be chosen taking into account all relevant factors” for a facility which is expected to have the capacity to treat 181,000 tonnes of residual waste a year in the three areas over the next 25 years.
The council also gave an “explicit assurance” that it was “not restricting its choice of future waste treatment methods or technology” at a council meeting on September 9 2008.
Indemnity
Currently the largest party in the Labour-led hung council, the Liberal Democrats have been staunchly against the possibility of an energy-from-waste facility being used in the waste PFI project, and have stated that if they come to power next spring then they would be tied to a technology they abhor due to the cost of compensating the other two councils should they withdraw from the scheme.
Councillor Gary Hopkins, leader of the Liberal Democrats, told letsrecycle.com: “We will not be able to get out of this unpopular plan due to the lack of sensible cost to get out of it, especially when you consider the introduction of the landfill allowance escalator”.
The council defended the use of an indemnity clause in the Outline Business Case, saying that the PFI bid could not be made without “proper indemnities in place”.
A spokeswoman for the city council said: “Bristol will only enter into indemnities if they are fair, balanced and provide the necessary certainty – and on the basis of professional advice. Whether Bristol does enter into the indemnities is the responsibility of the administration in power at the time of the decision.”
Technology
In its Joint Waste Strategy, the West of England Partnership identified energy-from-waste as its reference technology but conceded that it was a “contentious issue” despite it receiving favourable feedback in the public consultation and the Partnership claiming it was a “proven, deliverable technology”.
The decision to base the Expression of Interest on energy-from-waste technology led to an original member of the Partnership, Bath & North-East Somerset, withdrawing from the proposal.
Bristol council said that plans for the long term waste treatment facility – which could be developed in the industrial area of Avonmouth, outside Bristol – will also be subject to a tendering process, where the Partnership will work with contractors to develop appropriate technology but it would “ideally like to deliver a high efficiency combined heat and power facility”.
The spokeswoman for the council said: “Bristol has not decided in favour of an incinerator – what solution Bristol and its partners will chose to deal with the huge problem of residual waste will depend upon the market.”
Reference
Cllr Hopkins was aware that the use of the technology in the reference project did not tie the Waste Partnership 100% to the use of energy-from-waste, although he claimed the use of it as a reference project made it a likely option for such a facility to be developed.
He said that, in using energy-from-waste as its reference technology, the council had effectively said: “We don't want this but we are going to put a bid in to have this.”
Cllr Hopkins also expressed concern that the facility will be developed in Bristol or nearby due to the fact that the authority worked on a 'one authority, one vote' system, which could see South Gloucestershire and North Somerset voting to build in Bristol and not “in their own backyards”.
On September 9, the Liberal Democrats lost a vote to have Bristol city council drop energy-from-waste from the list of potential technologies that the city would pursue as part of the PFI bid, with the 70 member council voting 34 to 28 against removing it.
At the same meeting, it was noted by Bristol council that the majority of council members expressed opposition to the use of a “feed the beast mass burn incinerator” in providing a solution the city's residual waste disposal.
The bid – which is intended to have a facility operational by 2015-16 – is currently on course according to the West of England Partnership. Kay Hobday of the Partnership said: “The timetable is being adhered to. We are on target to put our Outline Business Case in by October 31.”
Interim
Alongside the submitting its Outline Business Case, the Partnership is also due to advertise the tender to develop an interim treatment facility to contend with the risks of failing to meet the 2010 landfill diversion target.
Explained in the Partnership's Joint Waste Strategy, the councils will begin seeking “fast, effective relief” from potential landfill fines through the development of treatment technology capable of handling waste for five years, or possibly more, before the long term benefits of the PFI contract can be obtained.
The proposed facility – which the Partnership claims could possibly be MBT – is timetabled to be operational by 2011 with the Partnership advertising for tenders in October and hoping to award a contract by late spring 2009.
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