And, a materials recycling facility with some 50,000 tonnes annual capacity is to be built in Reading to boost recycling rates.
Explaining details between the “RE3” contract signed last week (see letsrecycle.com story), Waste Recycling Group said around 60,000 tonnes of waste each year from Reading, Bracknell Forest and Wokingham will go to the Lakeside plant when it is operational.
 A 50,000-tonne capacity materials recycling facility is being built at a site in Reading |
Speaking to letsrecycle.com on Thursday, WRG project director Alistair Shotliff said: “Once the Lakeside plant is commissioned in 2008 we will be sending them 60,000 tonnes of waste per year.”
The RE3 partnership explained that using the Lakeside incinerator – a plant operated by Grundon and Viridor under a joint venture (see letsrecycle.com story) – will mean it can sell surplus landfill allowances to fund other waste management services.
John Freer, project director for the councils, said: “The contract is paid for by the councils and underpinned by the PFI credits, we will also receive the recyclate income. But one of the major benefits will be the sale of LATS, we will be generating a supply and combined with the funding and recyclate sale will offset the costs.”
RE3
Waste Recycling Group said most of its efforts will concentrate on increasing recycling rates for the three unitary authorities. A two-year building programme establishing a materials recycling facility and household waste recycling centre in Reading will begin in January 2007.
This plant will include sorting capabilities for paper, plastics and cans, and will also see glass brought into existing kerbside collection schemes in the area.
Mr Shotliff said: “At our Smallmead site in Reading there will be a household waste recycling centre and a new MRF, which will handle 50,000 tonnes. There will also be a new transfer station.”
Once this is complete, the company will also completely rebuild and replace a transfer station and CA site at Longshot Lane in Bracknell, which should take a further nine months.
Waste from Reading and Bracknell Forest councils will go to their respective local site, while Wokingham's waste will be split between the two.
Bracknell Forest and Reading have both already started working towards increasing recycling rates, introducing alternate weekly collections at the beginning of October. At this time Wokingham has not announced plans to go the same way.
Glass collection banks are also to be pushed by the councils as none of them currently have kerbside glass services. However Mr Freer said that the 100 or so banks in the area are currently very popular with residents.
Reduce
WRG is also helping with the “reduce” element of the contract, with two new waste minimisation officers being taken on board full time.
The three councils are currently collecting around 200,000 tonnes of waste per annum between them, with Reading recycling 21% of its waste, Bracknell 24% and Wokingham 26.5%.
Plans are now being put into place in order to bid for a joint LATS target as a single partnership, rather than each council pushing for individual targets.
At present, Bracknell Forest will see its 39,630 tonne limit on landfilling biodegradable waste in 2005/06 cut to 27,703 tonnes by 2010. Reading is required to cut its landfill tonnage from 54,127 tonnes to 35,028 tonnes in the next five years, while Wokingham needs to cut its rate from 40,239 tonnes to 29,804 tonnes.
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