West of England councils sign 10-year waste contracts

Councils in the West of England region has awarded new contracts with two regional companies to manage residual waste, which cannot be recycled or otherwise reused.

The contracts with Viridor and Suez will ensure the vast majority of such waste is diverted from landfill and instead used to generate energy, with the potential to power more than 120,000 homes.

Recycling rates are increasing right across the West of England region, which covers the Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol City, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Council areas. Whilst the four authorities have previously worked jointly to dispose of this waste via energy recovery facilities in Scandinavia, the new approach will mean it is managed locally, saving money and transport-related emissions.

By reducing transport and other costs, it is expected that across the four local authorities will save more than £300,000 each year.

David Wood, cabinet member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhoods at Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “It’s terrible in this day and age that we send our rubbish all the way to the continent to be incinerated; with Climate Change at the top of the agenda we need to be more careful with our carbon footprint. Sending so much rubbish to landfill is also the worst possible thing we can do. Landfilled rubbish creates methane that worsens Climate Change. These changes will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill which is good news for residents of Bath and North East Somerset and great news for the environment.”

Rachael Hunt, cabinet member for Communities at South Gloucestershire Council, added: “We are committed to continuing to improve our environmental performance; increasing the amount we recycle and reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill. Our residents have really risen to the challenges we have set down in our Waste Strategy and we are working together to make our area cleaner and greener. This new contract will help us manage and make the best use of the waste that can’t be recycled, which will now be used to generate energy locally, reduce transport-related emissions and save the council money.”