Veolia and Shropshire formally agree waste PFI deal

The final formalities were completed this week, a month after Shropshire named the waste management firm as preferred bidder in August (see letsrecycle.com story).

Veolia now has responsibility for collecting, recycling and treating the estimated 170,000 tonnes of waste that the Shropshire Waste Partnership – made up of four district councils and the county council – produces every year.

The overall value of contract has not been revealed but in its first full year of operation, it is believed the agreement will be worth £20 million.

Shropshire Waste Partnership has been granted £40.8m in government Private Finance Initiative credits towards the cost of the contract.

Veolia's chief executive Denis Gasquet said: “We firmly believe the PFI route offers waste authorities the best route to gaining investment in the critical waste infrastructure necessary to meet increasing recycling and landfill diversion targets. This major contract award reflects our belief in integrated waste management as the sustainable solution to the UK's waste needs.”

Proposals

Veolia's proposals include an energy-from-waste (EfW) plant in Battlefield Enterprise Park, Shrewsbury, with the capacity to process 90,000 tonnes of residual waste each year, which will export 8MW of electricity to power 10,000 homes. It also plans to build an in-vessel composter which can process up to 60,000 tonnes a year including food waste. Both facilities expected to be operating by 2012/13, subject to planning permission.

There are also plans to introduce a kerbside plastic bottle collection service by 2010 and build two integrated waste management facilities in Oswestry by 2009 and Bridgnorth by 2010, which will include household recycling centres and waste transfer stations.

The company has committed to reducing the amount of household waste sent to landfill from 65% in 2005/6 to 5% by 2015. It also wants to boost recycling levels of 50% by 2012.

Shropshire Waste Partnership chairman, Joyce Barrow, said: “We are delighted to formally sign this contract. We now look forward to working with Veolia in the years ahead to improve waste and recycling services across Shropshire and to increase the amount of household waste that is reused, recycled or composted.”