Essex resubmits PFI bid to include anaerobic digestion

The Essex Waste Management Partnership made up of 14 councils – 12 collection and two disposal authorities – has given the green light for the new application to Defra, which will help support its plans to build waste management facilities worth £300 million.

An application had already been submitted earlier this year this has now been amended following the publication of the England waste strategy and the energy white paper, in May.

Essex County Council which is leading the PFI bid said that changes were made after the government “concluded that consideration must be given to and targets set for the production of renewable sources”. The waste partnership is now focusing on anaerobic digestion and the production of solid recovered fuel (SRF).

The partnership's proposals now include:

• Windrow composting of green waste separated at household waste recycling centres

• Anaerobic Digestion of kerbside collected organic material to produce a PAS100 compliant compost and biogas to produce renewable energy

• A materials recovery facilities to sort dry recyclables

• Mechanical biological treatment of residual waste to produce a solid recovered fuel (SRF) for use in an energy facility, and landfilling of the remaining material

The partnership hopes the facilities will help it reduce the county's growth of municipal solid waste to 1% by 2015 and boost its household waste recycling rates to 60% but no date has been set as to when this would be achieved.

The county council's recycling/composting rate for 2005/06 – the most recently audited – was 32% and Braintree had one of the highest of the 12 collection authorities, with 30.5%.

“Massive undertaking”

The council has said that the project which will help it meet all its targets including LATS will be “a massive undertaking that will demand skilful management and levels of capital investment in one of the largest UK municipal waste management projects.

“Success for the future will necessitate a radical transformation of current waste management infrastructure in the partnership area”, it added

The government's Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has provisionally allocated £90 million of PFI credits to Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, as the partnership's two waste disposal authorities, following the initial application.

The council must submit its new outline business case by the end of July to qualify.