The recycling push in Wolverhampton threatens to cost waste chiefs £2.25 million, the Express & Star can reveal today.

The amount of waste now being collected separately has led to a huge reduction in the volume of rubbish needing to be burned. The cut means the incinerator behind the Peel Retail Centre on Stafford Street, city centre, now has 30,000 tons of spare capacity which could prove expensive for Wolverhampton’s waste bosses.

Wolverhampton now faces a race against time to persuade other councils to dump their rubbish there.

Under current laws local authorities are fined £75 for every ton of unused space at such plants. In the city’s case this adds up to £2.25 million.

The Government wants to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and is anxious to see spare capacity at incinerators used up.

The fine would be handed to Enterprise, a private firm which handles the rubbish collections in Wolverhampton on behalf of the city council.

Discussions have been ongoing between the council and other authorities to ‘sell off’ the spare capacity for the year to avoid being hit by the huge penalty.

Enterprise is privately run but gets a fee from the authority for providing waste collections in the city.

Tettenhall Wightwick Tory councillor Wendy Thompson, cabinet member for finance, said: “Anything that would lead to a fine because the city cannot fill the spare capacity would be horrifying.

“I know that we need to ensure that all of the capacity is used up and when we talk about figures of £2.25 million, it gives me great concern.”

Sources say the discussions between the council and other authorities are at a “critical” stage because of the fines involved.

Wolverhampton and other councils have been ordered to recycle more and the city currently removes 30 per cent of all household waste in that way.