The 256,000 tonnes per year capacity EfW plant has been developed by SITA UK, a subsidiary of Suez Environnement, under a 25-year contract with South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership. The plant first began treating waste in April 2014 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Under the contract, the 20MW plant will treat 190,000 tonnes of residual waste from the Partnership, which comprises 284,000 households in the council areas of Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.
A consortium of SITA UK and its equity partners Lend Lease Infrastructure (EMEA) Ltd and I-Environment Investments Ltd (ITOCHU Corporation) was awarded the £727 million contract with the Partnership in 2011.
According to SITA, the deal was one of the first waste PFI projects funded by banks to reach financial close under the competitive dialogue process. The funders are Credit Agricole, BBVA and Natixis. Defra also awarded the Partnership funding of £73.5 million towards the development of the plant.
A total of 43 full-time, permanent workers will operate the facility, while another 24 jobs have been created to operate three new waste transfer stations at Wrekenton in Gateshead, Middlefields in South Tyneside and Hendon in Sunderland.
At the transfer stations, which cost a combined £8 million, waste will be sorted for recycling before remaining non-recyclable waste is transported to the EfW plant, which will generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
According to SITA, a visitor and education centre has also been developed at the Wrekenton waste transfer station to assist with the promotion of recycling to children and adults within the Partnership area.
Construction
Construction of the facility began in September 2011 and was completed in April 2014, with more than 1,800 people employed during the building period.
1,500 tonnes of steel and 20,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete were used in the construction of the building, and SITA claims that 36% of the construction materials were from a recycled source.
Councillor Peter Mole MBE, chair of the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership’s joint executive committee, said: “These new developments are the realisation of our very ambitious plans to significantly reduce our reliance on landfill and provide our residents with a greener waste management service.
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“Thanks to these new facilities, we are proud to be able to say that we now divert over 95% of our waste away from landfill and, instead, put it to good use – either by recycling it into new products and compost or treating it to produce electricity. In fact, even the ash that comes from burning the waste is recycled into building materials.”
Around 35% of the Partnership’s household waste is currently recycled, but it is aiming to recycle 50% of its waste by 2020.
SITA UK
Chief executive of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones, said: “The South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership’s investment in this new infrastructure shows how local authorities can meet their commitments to divert waste material from landfill and, at the same time, deliver a sustainable source of energy. SITA UK is delighted to play a part in helping the North East put its waste to good use.
“On behalf of SITA UK and the South Tyne & Wear Waste Management Partnership, I am delighted and honoured to welcome His Royal Highness to formally open our new energy from waste facility.”
The plant is a mirror image of SITA UK’s original three-line Teesside plant, which sits adjacent to the new facility. This now means the site has a combined processing capacity of 390,000 tonnes of municipal waste a year.
The original plant is a joint venture between SITA UK and Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Hartlepool councils.
Meanwhile, SITA UK is in the process of submitting a planning application to Stockton borough council to develop a third facility on Teesside to house a sixth processing line.
The plant, which would be used to treat commercial and industrial waste in the area, would allow for the diversion of up to an additional 200,000 tonnes of waste from landfill every year, as well as potentially generating up to 35 MW of combined heat and power.
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