East London Waste Authority (ELWA) has a contract with Shanks for 25 years worth more than 1 billion, which began in December 2002 (see letsrecycle.com story). Shanks owns the licence to use Ecodeco's MBT technology in the UK, in which organic materials degrade and other recyclables are removed and results in a fuel or landfill cover.
Shanks' and ELWA's joint venture company, Shanks East London plans to build two MBT plants, one in Frog Island and the other in Newham to help meet the target of 25% recycling in 2005-2010.
Nick Wellington, communication manager for Shanks East London, said: “We are hopeful that we will go to a planning committee in August for the Frog Island site. For Newham the planning committee is in September.”
He added that the company did not envisage any problems getting through the planning stages.
Shanks East London has various plans for the area's waste besides the MBT plants, including rail links and kerbside collections of recyclable materials for all households.
Best Value
ELWA, the waste disposal authority covering the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham and Redbridge, has published its Best Value Performance Plan 2003-04. The report discussed the achievements of the joint venture company, Shanks East London, and its future plans.
East London Waste Authority (ELWA) has announced that its partnership with Shanks Waste Services 'is having a major impact' on its waste management. But despite the new contract with Shanks, there has been little change in the area's recycling rate so far. The Best Value Plan reported that of the 550,000 tonnes of waste generated in the ELWA region in 2002-03 just 6% was recycled.
The major leap towards the recycling targets is expected to come with the new MBT plants. The targets set for Shanks East London include a 25% recycling rate in the period 2005-06 to 2009-10 and rising to 30% then 33% by 2014/15 which are above the statutory targets set for the ELWA by the government.
A statement from the ELWA said: “Achieving these ambitious targets will require total commitment from the local councils, ELWA and the people of east London, but all indications are that the proposals are deliverable in the timeframe stated.”
The funding for the contract with Shanks came from various sources including a Private Finance Initiative but the borough councils are still make significant contributions to the ELWA. The Best Value Plan reported: “ELWA is primarily financed by an annual levy on its constituent councils. In 2003-04 the levy is 27.078m, with a further 2.397 million being raised by a separate charge on the councils for dealing with non-household waste.”
It added that this was a 26.6% increase on the 2002-03 figures but related to a number costs transferred from the councils including civic amenity site running expenses, fridge disposal and landfill tax increase.
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