Work starts on Allerton Park EfW facility

The facility will have the capacity to process around 320,000 tonnes of residual household waste per year from the two councils under a 25-year, £1.4 billion PFI contract signed with waste management firm AmeyCespa in 2010. It is expected to be fully operational during 2018.

Plans for the project were given final approval by the two councils in September 2014 (see letsrecyle.com), after concern about financing the contract following Defra’s withdrawal of PFI funding for the project in February 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).

However, the councils secured more than £183 million in investment from sources including the European Investment Bank and the UK’s Green Investment Bank to enable the project to go ahead.

Representatives from both the councils and AmeyCespa were on site yesterday to take part in a ground breaking ceremony to mark the commencement of construction work on the Allerton Waste Recovery Plant (AWRP).

Facility

County councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for waste and countryside services, said: “Starting construction on this facility marks the beginning of a new way of dealing with our household waste.

“AWRP will treat the household waste left over after recycling and composting – and some commercial waste from local businesses and offices – through anaerobic digestion and energy from waste incineration. It will result in a significant reduction in North Yorkshire’s and York’s ‘carbon footprint’ and produce enough electricity to power a town the size of Harrogate”.

Tracey Simpson-Laing, cabinet member for communities at City of York council, added: “This is the largest capital investment City of York council has ever procured and we’re proud to be marking this ‘ground breaking’ milestone with everyone who has helped to make this happen.

“This is a fantastic example of how partnership working has really come together. AWRP will create a huge boost for our economy and for our region – creating hundreds of jobs for construction and operation, whilst significantly reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and helping to increase our recycling performance over and above the 44% York residents already do.”