Norfolk councillors have been told to vote in favour of plans to send up to 50,000 tonnes of the countys residual waste to SITA UKs energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Suffolk, as it seeks to find a long term waste treatment solution.
Suffolk council had said it was open to discussion over sharing some of the capacity at the 269,000 tonnes per year capacity plant, after Norfolk had opted to scrap its own residual waste treatment contract with Cory Wheelabrator last month (see letsrecycle.com story).
Talks over an agreement between the two authorities have taken place over the past month, with Norfolk keen to have a deal in place as it is currently without a short term plan for much of its residual waste.
A proposed arrangement between the two councils would begin in 2014/15, with an initial term of no longer than three years. The deal would cover around 50,000 tonnes of Norfolks residual waste under a quarter of the total it collected during 2012/13.
According to a report to be presented to councillors ahead of a meeting next week (May 12) the council has flexible arrangements currently in place for dealing with residual waste that can currently be extended to March 2016.
Alternatives
These include contracts to send material to FCC Environments EfW plant at Allington in Kent and to AmeyCespas MBT facility at Waterbeach as well as a separate landfill deal with FCC, which is due to expire shortly.
Under a new deal between the waste disposal authorities, Norfolk would contract directly with its neighbour Suffolk, rather than SITA, via a delegation agreement which would hand responsibility for some of its functions to Suffolk. Under such a deal, Norfolk would pay Suffolk a rate in line with that of its contract with SITA.
Council officers have warned that Norfolk needs to find a short to medium term solution for residual waste quickly as otherwise it may not be able to find a value-for-money treatment option.
Under its 25-year residual waste treatment contract with SITA UK, worth up to 1 billion, Suffolk council is required to pay for the treatment of up to 170,000 tonnes of waste per year at the plant.
Sharing some capacity may work to the advantage of Suffolk council, as it is otherwise required to work with SITA to identify alternative customers to provide waste to the plant, which is currently under development, should it not be able to supply the required 170,000 tonnes of residual waste each year.
SITA is responsible for filling any additional capacity remaining on top of that set aside for the council with much of that likely to come from commercial sources.
Appeal
News of a possible deal between the two authorities comes as Norfolk has appealed to Prime Minister David Cameron for financial assistance in covering the cost of terminating its contract with Cory Wheelabrator.
Councillor George Nobbs, leader of Norfolk council wrote to Mr Cameron on Friday (May 2) to appeal for financial aid in paying the estimated 30 million cost of its failure to proceed with the deal.
He also reiterated the councils claim that the failure of Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to reach a decision on planning permission for the plant had contributed to the collapse of the contract.
Councillor Nobbs wrote: I am writing to you in order to ask for your help with a serious financial problem that my council has had to deal with as a result of the actions of a previous council administration here and the inaction of your Secretary of State for Communities.
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