Two firms compete for incinerator work

Staffordshire waste chiefs have narrowed down the shortlist of firms vying to build a £122 million rubbish incinerator near Cannock.

Only two firms are in the running to control the new energy from waste plant.

The new county council Tory administration has backed the idea. International environmental experts MVV Umwelt GmbH and Veolia ES Aurora Ltd have made it through to the final in the race to run the prestigious project. The incinerator has been criticised by communities and environment groups.

They say it will harm the environment and hamper recycling efforts, is part of Staffordshire's Zero waste to landfill strategy.

The county council is focusing on recycling as much domestic rubbish as possible, and turning the residual waste left over into energy.

The Staffordshire approach has already received a massive £122.4 million in funding approval from the Government and been given the green light by the Audit Commission as being prudent management of taxpayers' cash.

The council got planning permission in November last year for the new building on the Four Ashes industrial estate near Cannock.

The team expects the plant to generate enough power for over 25,000 homes and is working on deals to deliver surplus hot water to local industrial and commercial users to get even more value from the project.

But campaigners from Friends of the Earth say the county could struggle to fulfill its 30-year obligations as recycling will limit the amount of waste going to the burner. Wolverhampton's incinerator has seen a similar problem.

The county's Cabinet member for regeneration and infrastructure Robert Marshall said the project was a real winner for the environment and the taxpayer.

He said: "The waste to resource project is all about prudent investments in the future. The financial and environmental costs of landfill are becoming increasingly prohibitive, and energy from waste provides real opportunities for extracting the maximum benefit from materials left over after recycling has been maximised.

"This is about protecting the taxpayer from costs."