Council officers are also looking into aligning the start of around 15 million worth of new waste contracts around April 2005, with the possibility of integrating them. Consultations still need to be carried out, but a 15 to 25 year waste treatment contract for over 300,000 tonnes a year has been raised by council officers.
In a cabinet meeting held on Monday this week, councillors considered a report by officers, which warned of penalties associated with failing to meet the landfill diversion targets as laid out by the government's forthcoming Waste and Emissions Trading Bill.
The targets will be based on landfill diversion targets for biodegradable municipal waste set out by the European Landfill Directive. These include reducing landfill rates to 75% of 1995 waste levels by 2010 and 35% by 2020.
Penalty
Council officers warned that the penalty for missing targets “is likely to be based on twice the cost per tonne of the most costly established method of diversion from landfill… the government is also considering that as a further disincentive for Waste Disposal Authorities, that the whole fine received by the UK is passed on to the WDAs that are responsible for the UK not meeting its EU landfill targets.”
With EU fines as high as 500,000 a day, or 180 million a year, the council decided on Monday to opt for option B in its recent waste consultation, 'The Challenges Norfolk Faces with Waste', which came to a close in May 2003.
The option calls for: “Residual waste treatment plant(s) with capacity to process more than is required to meet the landfill targets… this could be to either reduce our dependency on landfill or to recover energy from waste.”
Capacities
Having reduced waste growth in Norfolk from 4% to 2%, planned capacities needed are projected to be 340,000 tonnes by 2010, 360,000 tonne by 2013 and 410,000 tonnes by 2020. The council believes it will reach 36% recycling rates by 2010. With an ambition for a zero landfill rate by that date, another option – possibly involving energy from waste recovery – will have to be used for the remaining 64% of the county's waste.
The cabinet decided that four business cases will be developed to take their ambitions forward. Firstly, a 'service payment' approach, in which a contractor provides required funds to build and operate plants. Secondly, a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) approach securing government assistance for the duration of the contract. The third case will be a joint venture involving the council-owned waste company, Norfolk Environmental Waste Services. The final option to be developed will be an approach based on “prudential borrowing” on the part of the council to finance the infrastructure needed.
Balance
A statement from the council cabinet explaining its reasons for reaching its decisions said: “The preliminary recommendations are intended to be a balance between the need to maintain flexibility and to put in place practical measures to ensure the authority meets its duties under the Landfill Directive.”
Waste management costs in Norfolk are about 17 million, and this is projected to rise to 25 million by 2010 and 30 million by 2020, not including potential fines from the government. In terms of waste infrastructure, the report from Norfolk officers said: “Until the number and type of plants is known, it is not possible to predict the level of capital expenditure required. However, based on information from other authorities, the range is in the order of 50 million to 100 million plus the cost of the land.”
Further consultation and assessment of the four business cases will be carried out by the council from August to October 2003, for the cabinet to consider by the end of the year. A tender is likely to go out in early 2004 for contracts to be awarded in early 2005.
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