A new partnership between Viridor and Ansa Environmental Services has won a contract to process around 55,000 tonnes of household residual waste from Cheshire East Council at Viridor’s Runcorn Energy Recovery Facility (ERF).
Commenced on 1 April for an initial period of five years, with an option to extend for an additional five years, the contract will see Viridor and Ansa responsible for the collection of residual waste and its transformation into refuse derived fuel (RDF) for energy generation at the Runcorn facility,Viridor’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility treats up to 850,000 tonnes of RDF each year, diverting residual waste from landfill, and generates up to 70 megawatts (MW) of electricity and up to 51 MW of heat for exclusive use by chemicals company INOVYN. Commenting on the agreement, Simon Wright, Viridor’s Business Development Manager, said: “Viridor is delighted to be awarded this new contract with Ansa after a robust competitive tendering process. The partnership demonstrates a commitment to generate low carbon from Cheshire East’s non-recyclable waste and makes the best use of resources locally in Cheshire, supporting jobs and the local economy.”Kevin Melling, Ansa’s Managing Director, added: “As well as maximising opportunities to reduce carbon emissions, we are also working towards reducing the use of fossil fuels and diverting waste from landfill.”The contract comes as many local authorities are bringing waste collection contracts back in-house, among them Slough, Powys, East Cambridgeshire, Rushmoor and Bristol, in order to cut costs, while the greater Manchester Waste DIsposal Authority (GMWDA) secured an early exit from its 25-year private finance initiative (PFI) agreement with Viridor and infrastructure group John Laing over ‘unrectifiable budgeting reasons’.
Blackpool Borough Council, the latest to make this move, stated in a Cabinet Member Report that the decision would ‘achieve significant savings and give the Council increased control and oversight of a key service’. Early estimates are that the first few years will see savings in excess of six figures.
In response to this trend, the Environmental Services Association (ESA) launched a campaign in April promoting the use of outsourcing as the most effective way of making significant cost savings and driving innovation in waste service delivery.
The ESA’s Executive Director, Jacob Hayler said: “ESA recognises that many local authorities are concerned about locking themselves into inflexible arrangements for up to 10 years for their waste services. But we believe that competitive tenders – open to both private and publicly owned service providers – can be used to protect councils from changes in future legislation in the most affordable way.”
Get our weekly digest
resource.co article ai
How will the government and DMOs address the challenges of including glass in DRS while ensuring a level playing field across the UK?
There's no easy solution to include glass in the DRS while maintaining a level playing field. Potential approaches include a phased introduction of glass, potentially with higher deposits to reflect its logistical challenges. The government and DMOs could incentivise innovation in glass packaging design and subsidise dedicated return points for glass-handling. Exemptions for smaller businesses unable to handle glass might also be necessary. Any successful solution will likely blend several approaches. It must address the differing priorities of devolved administrations, balance environmental benefits with logistical and cost implications, and be supported by robust consumer education campaigns emphasizing the importance of glass recycling.