The county council's cabinet will select a single bidder which will have put forward the most robust energy-from-waste solution
Cllr Martin Tett, Buckinghamshire county council
The 25-year thermal treatment contract, which involves developing a plant capable of treating around 210,000 tonnes of residual waste each year, is being contested by Northampton-based Waste Recycling Group and American energy-from-waste specialists Covanta Energy.
The council's waste procurement project board has confidentially recommended one bidder to councillors in an overview and scrutiny commission committee report to be discussed at a meeting on Monday morning (September 14) – two weeks earlier than had originally been scheduled.
Councillor Martin Tett, Buckinghamshire county council's cabinet member for planning and environment, said: “I am pleased that we're able to select a preferred bidder earlier than we expected. On September 14, the county council's cabinet will select a single bidder which will have put forward the most robust energy-from-waste solution to divert non-recyclable or compostable waste away from landfill.”
A statement released by the council said it would be making arrangements to allow many members of the public to attend the event. It stated: “There is expected to be much interest in the item, which will be first on the cabinet agenda.”
Interest surrounds such issues as the locations earmarked by the two shortlisted bidders to develop facilities. WRG, which already operates a landfill in the county, has proposed a site at Calvert in the west of Buckinghamshire, while Covanta is suggesting a site at the Rookery Pit, near Stewartby, which is in the middle of the neighbouring ceremonial county, Bedfordshire.
One industry expert told letsrecycle.com that he believed the Calvert site was more suitable because it was situated within Buckinghamshire's borders.
He said: “Are the councils going to vote for an incinerator site in their own area or are they going to pass the buck over to Bedfordshire and name a site there?”
Covanta previously came under criticism from local councillors for its proposal at the Stewartby site, after claiming it would develop a 600,000 tonnes-a-year capacity plant to treat waste from both Buckinghamshire and neighbouring Bedfordshire (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, the report to be discussed by the cabinet indicates that the capacity of Covanta's proposed facility is now in the region of 390,000 tonnes of waste per year. The WRG plant is for a proposed capacity of 300,000 tonnes of residual waste per year.
The successful bidder will have to submit a detailed planning application to the council and, under the projected timeline, the county council is hopeful of having a facility fully operational by 2013/14.
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