A £640 million private finance initiative intended to push Manchester’s recycling rate to 50 percent was signed yesterday in one of the biggest deals of its kind.
The deal, to create a state-of-the-art recycling centre to help increase the city’s recycling rate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent by 2015 and should see significant reductions in the quantity of rubbish sent to be buried in landfill sites.
An estimated 5,000 jobs will be created during the construction stage and a further 116 permanent jobs will be created within Manchester’s waste network which handles 1.3 million tonnes of municipal rubbish a year.
Among the technologies that will be introduced are a Materials Recovery Facility to increase recycling, and anaerobic digestion units to reduce the quantity of organic material sent to landfill.
Solid fuel produced at five new mechanical biological treatment facilities, four of which will be supported by anaerobic digesters, will be sent to a combined heat and power generator at Ineos Chlor in Runcorn. Methane extracted during the process will be used as a fuel.
The PFI was agreed between a consortium led by the companies Viridor and John Laing, the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) and nine distict councils and will account for 5 per cent of Britain’s municipal waste over the next 25 years.
Hilary Benn, the environment secretary, welcomed the PFI: “Diverting one million tonnes of waste through these world class waste facilities will be a major step in reaching our 2013 and 2020 landfill targets and play an important role in battling climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions created by landfill.
“But it’s not only the environmental benefits we should be celebrating. The creation of 5,000 new jobs in the North West is a boost for the regional economy at a welcome time.” Colin Drummond, Chief Executive of Viridor said: “This iconic project is a very important component of the UK’s waste management and renewable energy strategies.
“It is designed to bring world class recycling, waste management and renewable energy infrastructure to Greater Manchester. It is a concrete example of major investment in the green economy and will be a showcase of what the UK can offer.” By diverting waste away from landfill sites, where they attract tax at £32 per tonne rising to £48 by 2011, the PFI should reduce the future cost of disposing of rubbish.
It was calculated that the deal will put £1 per week on residents’ council tax bills but without the landfill reductions being brought about they would have had to have paid an extra £2 per week to cover landfill taxes.
Councillor Neil Swannick, of the GMWDA, said: "There are lots of different technologies that are being brought into play. We believe we have the best anywhere in the world.”
He said one of the main drivers for the deal was the impact of waste on greenhouse gas emissions especially methane which is at least 20 times more powerful in warming the atmosphere than carbon.
By extracting methane and reducing carbon emissions the authority believes it will have taken preventative action against climate change.
The integrated waste system will serve 3 million people in 1 million households.
Source - The Times
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