letsrecycle.com

Derbyshire councils to repair and reopen Sinfin EfW plant

Derbyshire county and Derby city councils voted on 2 February to repair the failed Sinfin gasification plant and use it to treat residents’ residual waste.

An artist’s impression of the Sinfin facility, which was due to open in 2017

In 2009, Resource Recovery Solutions (RRS), a partnership between infrastructure firm Interserve and waste management company Renewi, signed a 27-year, £900 million waste treatment contract with the councils, which included running the 190,000-tonne capacity plant in Sinfin, Derby.

However, the councils brought the contract to an early end in August 2019 after problems with the plant, which included excessive odours and technical issues (see letsrecycle.com story).

The councils met Thursday to discuss whether they could “rectify” the plant’s “defects” or whether they would have to close it and dispose of their waste using a third party.

Each decided respectively that it was “more cost-effective for Derby and Derbyshire council taxpayers” to use the plant to deal with household waste during the next two decades, according to a joint statement published on 3 February.

The councils say they will now go to the market to appoint specialist contractors to carry out the rectification work and operate the facility.

The councils also gave approval to set up a joint project board to “coordinate decision-making to help drive the project forward”.

‘Informed decision’

Cllr Chris Poulter, Derby city council’s leader, said: “It was vital that we took the time to thoroughly assess the options on the table so that we could make an informed decision on the facility’s future.

The recommendation to rectify and use the facility offered the most viable, economic and cost-effective option
– Cllr Chris Poulter, leader of Derby city council

“The recommendation to rectify and use the facility offered the most viable, economic and cost-effective option and the best deal for council taxpayers in Derby and Derbyshire to provide a sustainable and long-term solution for dealing with household waste.”

The councils’ joint statement said rectifying the facility would give them more certainty about the future cost of dealing with household waste that residents either cannot or choose not to recycle.

Cllr Simon Spencer, Derbyshire county council’s deputy leader, added: “There will always be some waste that residents either cannot or choose not to recycle and the business case shows that the waste treatment centre is still the best long-term solution – not just in terms of the cost to council tax-payers and protecting them against rising costs of dealing with waste by other means in the future, but also for the benefit to the environment and our ongoing commitment to cut carbon emissions to help tackle climate change.”

Derby

Derbyshire county council had a household waste recycling rate of 45.1% in 2020/21, the latest financial year for which verified data is available, while Derby city council’s rate was 36.7%.

Following the end of RRS’s contract, the Sinfin plant stopped accepting waste, which the councils sent instead to energy from plants, refuse derived fuel facilities and landfills in the UK.

Renewi UK Services was then appointed to carry out a deep clean and undertake a series of condition surveys on the state of the facility to inform an appraisal into its future viability. The councils also gave Renewi a two-year ‘continuity services’ contract to ensure the city and county’s waste continued to be disposed of.

RRS entered administration following the termination of its contract and the administrators subsequently sued the councils (see letsrecycle.com story).

Share this article with others

Subscribe for free

Subscribe to receive our newsletters and to leave comments.

Back to top

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest waste and recycling news straight to your inbox.

Subscribe