York And North Yorkshire Waste PFI

23 November 2010

City of York Council's Executive will be asked to consider plans to agree a joint waste solution with North Yorkshire County Council and the Waste PFI contract Preferred Bidder, AmeyCespa, at a meeting later this month (30 November). The solution being considered is designed to recover value from the waste left after reduction, recycling and re-use activities have taken place and turn it into a resource.

The technologies include mechanical sorting and reclamation of around 20,000 tonnes a year of recyclable materials left in the waste that arrives at the facility; Anaerobic Digestion to treat garden and food waste and produce green electricity; and thermal treatment, which could produce enough electricity to supply around 40,000 homes. The proposed location for this facility is Allerton quarry and landfill next to the A1M near Harrogate.

If agreed, the solution will allow York and North Yorkshire to reach, and even exceed, their target of recycling 50 percent of waste by 2020. It will also save the two authorities around £320m on their combined waste management bills over the life of the contract.

Members of North Yorkshire County Council will be asked to decide whether to award the Waste PFI contract to AmeyCespa, the preferred bidder, in December. The decision follows confirmation from the Government that it has approved an allocation of £65m in PFI credits for the contract.