Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire land 138m PFI

The award, which is one of the largest granted by Defra under the private finance initiative (PFI), comes shortly after the two councils invited companies interested in bidding for the 25-year joint waste management contract to attend an ‘Industry Day' to receive information about the project (see letsrecycle.com story).

Environment minister, Jane Kennedy said: “I can today announce the formal approval of Milton Keynes council and Northamptonshire county council's bid for £138 million PFI credits to deliver new waste management infrastructures in the area.”

“This will create a real incentive for both the authorities and industry to work together to reduce waste and make better use of waste that is produced, as well as reducing our impact on the environment,” she added.

Having based its reference technology for its Outline Business Case (OBC) on mechanical biological treatment (MBT) and in-vessel composting technology, the council partnership has not committed to a technology and will now engage in discussions over the coming months.

The contract will be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union shortly. Members of the waste industry will then be able to register their interest in taking part in the procurement process, which is expected to take two years.

Councils

Ben Smith, deputy leader of Northamptonshire county council, said: “It is a real achievement to have received such a major financial contribution for the project. We are committed to finding the best solution for the residents of both areas and are pleased to have had the support of the Northamptonshire Waste Partnership throughout the process so far.”

The award of PFI funding and the development of the 25-year waste management contract is intended to help the councils deal with the expected increase is their residual waste arisings from their current 200,000 tonnes a year to 350,000 tonnes a year by 2026.

Mr Smith said: “Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire are likely to see significant housing growth over the next twenty years and the amount of waste being generated as a result is going to steadily increase.”

“Although there are many schemes in place to ensure as much as possible is recycled and composted, there will always be a small amount left. We cannot continue to rely on landfill to dispose of this. We must find more sustainable, long term solutions,” he added.

With regards to the joint working of the project, which was originally agreed in December 2006 (see letsrecycle.com story), Councillor Chris Williams, cabinet member for environmental services at Milton Keynes council, said: “Our borders run side by side so it makes sense that we look at sharing facilities in the future.”

“We are absolutely delighted to have been given this award. We have developed a strong partnership with Northamptonshire County Council since we first began the joint waste project. The councils have similar policies and aspirations for the management of waste,” he added.

The partnership had hoped to select a preferred bidder in May 2010 and have any facilities funded through PFI operational by September 2013. The projected start dates remain the same, despite being based on PFI funding being secured by July 2008.