The council has terminated arrangements to procure the plant planned for Leyland from Herhof Environmental UK, the German-founded but Irish-owned technology company.
Herhof, which had been appointed preferred bidder in 2003, suffered financial difficulties in its German division last year, which raised questions over the company's ability to provide the Leyland plant (see letsrecycle.com story).
” This will have a significant impact on the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill.“
– Cllr Fred Jackson, Blackpool BC
The Leyland plant was to be the first of three plants in the county to use the new waste treatment technology MBT, which sees mixed residual waste subjected to a combination of mechanical separation and composting to divert a proportion from landfill. The other two plants were to be established under Lancashire's forthcoming Private Finance Initiative contract.
Global Renewables
It has now been decided to build all three plants under the PFI contract, for which Lancashire has chosen Global Renewables as preferred bidder (see letsrecycle.com story). SITA UK have been named as reserve bidder.
The new MBT plants are to use similar technology to that already in operation at the Global Renewables plant at Eastern Creek in Sydney.
Reporting on a meeting of councillors regarding final negotiations of the PFI contract, Lancashire's chief executive Christopher Trinick stated that Lancashire's cabinet: “Agrees to the Public Private Partnership procurement for the separate MBT plant at Leyland for which Herhof Environmental (UK) Ltd had previously been appointed preferred bidder, being terminated and for this facility to be taken forward as part of the PFI project.”
Herhof Environmental (UK) was unavailable for comment.
Contract
Lancashire is now to enter final negotiations with the Australian-led consortium Global Renewables over the contract, which has been provided with 75 million in PFI support from the government. A contract is expected to be signed by April 2006, with operations due to start in 2008 after an initial construction period with a full service to be up and running by 2011.
The Lancashire PFI project will also need the agreements of partner councils Blackburn with Darwen borough council and Blackpool borough council. The three councils have said they will approach the government to seek more financial support for the contract.
The decision to support Global Renewables' bid is to be put to councillors in Blackpool tomorrow.
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Cllr Fred Jackson, portfolio holder for the urban environment at Blackpool explained: “Under the plans, the revolutionary site will not only pick out as much recyclable materials as possible for recycling, it will turn as much of the remaining waste – the 'residual' rubbish – into compost.
“This will have a significant impact on the amount of rubbish being sent to landfill – i.e. huge holes in the ground – which are becoming increasingly full and expensive to use, and therefore increasingly draining on the long-term council budget.”
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