Suffolk County Council news release

Suffolk County Council reaches the next stage in its plans to stop land filling its waste

Suffolk County Council published an advert on the 29 May (2008) for a long-term contract for the design, build, financing and operating of a residual waste treatment facility for the processing and disposal of household waste which is not suitable for recycling or composting.  

The tender, to appear in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), is the next stage in the county council's complex Waste Programme and follows its successful bid to secure a £102 million Government subsidy in the form of Private Finance Initiative credits

Suffolk County Council expects the contract notice will stimulate applications for a range of technologies and sites from contractors across Europe.  At present, Energy from Waste is the council's preferred technology and it has identified a potential site for a waste treatment facility at Great Blakenham.  Whilst the county council has openly discussed its preferred technology choice and the site it is offering to contractors, these are not a specified requirement and it will consider any alternatives that are a better option for Suffolk.

Suffolk's waste programme is a direct result of Government targets to reduce the amount of waste currently sent to landfill by 25,500 tonnes in 2009/10 and 75,000 tonnes in 2012/13.   Landfill space in the county, like across the whole of the UK, is running out and the council must deliver a sustainable and cost effective solution for dealing with this leftover waste.

Suffolk County Councillor Eddy Alcock, portfolio holder for environment and waste management said: "We are confident that we will receive a wide range of applications for a number of technologies.  The contract will be out to tender for later this year and it is envisaged that a final decision regarding the best application will not be made until early 2010.

"However, my main message remains the same - we must continue to do our best with recycling.  This tender is for a plant able to take only 250,000 tonnes of our left-over waste.  We have to go further with reducing, reusing and recycling otherwise the facility will be too small."

A facility or facilities for the disposal of the county's residual waste will be used as a final option.   Suffolk County Council will continue to work with residents to support the 3Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle - and will strive to keep recycling rates as one of the highest in the country. 

For more information on the council's waste procurement programme, please visit the environment pages at www.suffolk.gov.uk

For more information about recycling, please visit www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk