Plans to construct an energy from waste (EfW) plant in Peterborough have been given the go-ahead after Peterborough council awarded the £76 million contract to waste management company, Viridor.

Earlier this month, the council named Viridor as the preferred bidder for the project, but the final decision was not made until last night (29 August), during a meeting among members of the council.

During the meeting, council members approved the decision to appoint Viridor, and approved the project to go ahead as planned, with ‘spades on the ground’ construction set for summer 2013 and completion scheduled for 2015.

“I am very pleased that, having given the proposal further consideration, the majority of my fellow councillors recognise the importance of going ahead with our planned energy from waste facility”, said Councillor Matthew Lee, Deputy Leader of the Peterborough City Council, who led last night’s meeting.

The 80,000 tonne capacity EfW plant will produce 53,000 megawatt hours of electricity – enough to power up to 15 per cent of Peterborough’s homes – by burning local waste, which will be turned to ash and used as aggregate material. According to the council, more than 94 per cent of the city’s waste will be diverted from landfill once the EfW plant is in operation.

Peterborough produces 90,000 tonnes of waste per year, 50,000 of which is sent to landfill.

“The practise of burying waste in landfill in Peterborough will virtually be a thing of the past once the new facility opens; which will be good news for the environment and for the city’s taxpayers”, Councillor Lee said.

The EfW plant, which will be running for an expected 30 years, will be funded by £76 million of waste services investment from the council. Councillor Lee emphasised the council’s continued focus on recycling, despite the current attention being paid to energy from waste.

“…[W]e’re not letting up on our desire to increase recycling in Peterborough – quite the opposite”, he said, “which is why we’ve just announced that we’re starting a food waste collection service, starting in October.”

The new, weekly, food collection service will be run by Enterprise Peterborough and is expected to be introduced over an eight-week period starting in October. Each household will be given a small silver caddy for the kitchen and a second, larger (23-litre) locking food waste containers, to sit alongside the other outside recycling bins.

For more information about the Peterborough EfW plant, visit the Peterborough Council’s website.