WLWA: "West London Waste Authority signs long term contract with SITA consortium to end landfilling of waste"

"West London Waste Authority has successfully signed a Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract with a consortium led by SITA UK Ltd to recover energy from residual waste over the next 25 years.

"SITA UK, along with its partners Scottish Widows Investment Partners and the ITOCHU Corporation, will design, finance, build and operate infrastructure to manage up to 300,000 tonnes of residual municipal waste every year.

"The twenty five year contract, worth £370 million in today’s terms, will start in 2014 and provides for up to 300,000 tonnes of waste that hasn’t been recycled to be treated each year. The contract will save approximately 13.5% of projected future costs over the life of the contract compared to continuing to landfill the waste.

"Under the agreement, residual waste that the 1.6 million people living in the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames, have not been able to separate for recycling will be transported by rail to the new Severnside Energy Recovery Centre (SERC) in South Gloucestershire, which already has planning permission.

"The 34 megawatt facility will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 50,000 homes (equivalent to almost half the number of homes in Ealing)and could also provide heat to local businesses – further increasing its environmental performance.

"This solution will enable the West London Waste Authority to divert 96 per cent of its waste from landfill and is expected to save two million tonnes of CO2 over the duration of the contract and minimises vehicle movements on London’s roads.

"It is anticipated that preliminary construction work will begin at Severnside in December this year and the facility is expected to be completed in 2016.

"From January 2014, SITA UK will take over the operation of the two rail-linked waste transfer stations at Transport Avenue and Victoria Road, which will both be substantially modernised as part of the investment programme.

"Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Chair of WLWA, said:

“A large proportion of our household waste can be recycled, and this contract will support west London’s commitment to recycle at least 50 per cent by 2020.

For too long we have been sending our remaining waste to pile up and rot in landfill. This new contract means virtually nothing will be sent there in future and provides a sustainable and affordable solution that will turn waste into energy – saving money as well as helping to save the environment.”

"David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK, said:

“I am delighted that we have managed to reach financial close just over six months after being announced as preferred bidder, which is testament to the hard work of all involved.

We now look forward to working with the Authority to make best use of these valuable materials.”

"To mark the financial close of the contract, Jean-Louis Chaussade, the Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK’s parent company, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, visited the Brentford Waste Transfer Station at Transport Avenue and met members of the West London Waste Authority."

"Ealing Conservative MP Angie Bray supports Brent's concern over Harlesden waste incinerator" (a copy of a planned Barnet incinerator at Brent Cross)

Source: 'Wembley Matters'

Angie Bray, Conservative MP for Ealing Central and Acton, has spoken out against the proposed 'Harlesden/Acton Waste Incinerator' LINK

Following the deferral of the item which was due to be discussed in about an hour at Ealing Planning Committee she publishes the speech she had prepared to deliver:

"I have been keeping a concerned eye on some of the pollution issues affecting the different parts of Acton for some time. These include the pollution generated by the Horn Lane site, the problems emanating from the Powerday site and the natural concerns that local residents have around the fact that five sites have been identified for waste disposal around Park Royal.  Clean Power's application comes on top of all of this.

"My first concern was immediately created at the meeting I had with Clean Power in Parliament, when they came to brief me on their proposals. I asked whether their application was to run one of the five waste sites whose location had been identified by the Council around Park Royal, as part of the Mayor's London Waste Plan. Imagine my surprise when they clearly had no idea what I was talking about. Later it transpired that they were actually proposing to establish potentially a sixth waste site in this corner of my constituency. Obviously, no one expects that the five sites identified by the Council will all be used, but this addition to those that may be would still add substantially to the problems that would be faced by the community - not least: pollution, odours, transport congestion and noise.

"My next concern, following on from what I've just said, is that the residents' community in North Acton, who are living alongside Powerday, would, were this application to succeed, find themselves literally wedged between two major waste disposal sites. I don't think any of us would disagree that Powerday is the source of continual problems for local residents, however much the management say otherwise and indeed work to ameliorate the odours and general pollution. There have been times in particularly hot weather where residents are unable to open their windows - such is the stink caused by the site. And then of course there are rats and do I need I go on...

"So is it reasonable to expect residents to have to live with yet another waste disposal site - anaerobic digestive or otherwise - just to the other side of them?

"Obviously too there will be the nature of the waste traffic. Residents have had to get used to the traffic generated by Powerday's and the Freightliner site's existing operations, but is the Council really going to expect them now to tolerate even more waste lorry traffic that will inevitably arrive as a result of the operations by Clean Power? How much more heavy traffic is this part of North Acton able to sustain without an intolerable impact on the lives of the local residents?

"What has been striking to many of us, which I list as my third concern, is the lack of evidence that Clean Power is able to produce to demonstrate how well their operations work on other sites. Clearly, if we had been able to see happy residents close by to a Clean Power site, then that might have helped to allay fears.  But when I go on their website, all I see is a list of would-be sites, which they hope to develop in the future.  Surely the Council will require better evidence than that?

"My fifth and final question is about the choice of the site itself. As I understand it, this site is currently safeguarded for HS2.  Now I recognise that there has been much debate about HS2 - and there may have been some who thought that the cross-party support for the project was breaking down - however, last week in Parliament all parties lined up with very few dissenting members, to support the HS2 project going forward. It strikes me that this site will remain HS2's as the project is unrolled. 

"So why is Ealing Council even taking time to consider this proposal when we all know that the safeguarding by HS2 remains firmly in place, as does the project itself? As things stand, there is no site for Clean Power to develop, so can we just recognise reality and put a stop to any further blight of this kind on local residents? I notice Brent is focusing very hard on the pollution aspects of this proposal, and both Brent and Ealing pollution experts are calling for rejection of the plan.  I would like to add my voice to theirs.”

The Observer: " 'March of the incinerators' threatens drive to recycle more rubbish"

Link to web site

"A rush to build incinerators to burn waste and break the UK's reliance on landfill is threatening the country's commitment to increase its recycling rates.

"As new figures reveal that recycling rates have fallen for the first time in 30 years, experts warn that the UK is in danger of building far more incineration capacity than it needs. The controversial waste disposal systems are used to produce electricity and heat for homes and industry. But there are fears that the 'march of the incinerators', as some have called it, will act as a disincentive for councils to recycle waste.

"... Experts said the use of incinerators had consequences for recycling as local authorities were forced to divert waste to feed the plants. Adam Baddeley, principal consultant at Eunomia, said"

"The choice to invest in thermal treatment can hold back recycling efforts, At one level, the money invested in such plant simply isn't available to put into building recycling plants or collection infrastructure.

And once you've built an incinerator or gasifier, there's a strong incentive to keep it fed with waste, even if that means keeping on collecting as 'black bag' rubbish, material that would be economically practicable to collect separately for recycling."

Tues 9 July: "Create Solutions - Design Waste out of Our Bins!"

Link to web site

"A creative, constructive workshop to redesign the products voted as the things that most drive us nuts in the People's Design Lab Awards.

"No design expertise needed - you just need to care about waste.

"The workshop will bring together people who care with designers, people who know the ins and outs of impacts and product manufacturers. We'll be unpicking the reasons behind current designs and giving them a 'zero waste' makeover." 

"Let’s design waste out of our bins! Join us at The People’s Design Lab’s first workshop on 9th July at Cranfield University, where we’ll be bringing together people who understand design and us folk who just care about waste. Meet Karen Cannard of The Rubbish Diet and Ugo Vallauri of Restart as we create new solutions!

"Over 130 products that you can’t recycle, re-use or repair were nominated for a People’s Design Lab Award. 1000 votes later and we have our Award Winners. Now the real fun starts as we redesign inkjet printers, two types of packaging and electronic chargers." 

"Ten firefighters hurt in blaze at Smethwick recycling plant"

Link to Evening Standard

"Ten firefighters have been injured tackling a blaze involving 100,000 tonnes of plastic recycling material in the West Midlands.

"The fire service said 200 firefighters were at the scene in Smethwick.

"A plume of smoke was today rising 6,000ft into the air from the fire at the Jayplas depot in Dartmouth Road."

RSA: "What is the Great Recovery - Redesigning the Future?"

Link to web site

"The current economic and environmental challenges of

Take,           

Make,

            Dispose

manufacturing are becoming apparent.

"Increasing supply risk and rising costs of materials is putting pressure on businesses to change. We need to shift towards more circular systems, and good design thinking is pivitol [sic. 'pivotal'] to this transition.

"The Great Recovery is building new networks to explore the issues, investigate innovation gaps, and incubate new partnerships."

Link to web site

"The Great Recovery Report: Investigating the role of design in the circular economy"

"The Great Recovery project, launched in September 2012 by the Action and Research Centre at the RSA, aims to build a cross-disciplinary design community that is equipped to support the development of an economy based on resource-efficient principles.

"This report covers the first six months of the Great Recovery project, including the circular network, workshops, and teardown observations.

"Through this we have gained a better understanding of what action and research is required to transform the way society manages resources. This report outlines a series of key recommendations, based on the findings of the first phase of The Great Recovery programme."

Vancouver Observer: "Trashed: documentary shines light on global waste crisis"

Link to 'Trashed' web site

"Killer whales so contaminated that they were classified as toxic waste. A once-beautiful Lebanese beach that’s now a towering mound of garbage, bleeding contaminants into the Mediterranean Sea. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an area the size of Quebec that has six times as much plastic as zooplankton, the foundation of the food chain.

"We all know that trash is a serious environmental problem, but it’s hard to grasp the full extent of the global predicament. And even if you are well-informed, it’s good to be reminded that waste is, in the eyes of the creators of Trashed, the most dire environmental crisis today. British documentary Trashed tells the story of the world’s waste disposal problems through the eyes of Jeremy Irons. The actor-turned-environmental activist takes the audience around the world, showing first some of the most gory garbage patches, before presenting the challenges of getting rid of such trash.

Incinerators: a burning problem

"Incinerators might seem like a neat way to vaporize the problem, but they’re far from a panacea. The ash from burnt garbage is even more toxic than the garbage itself, and even the most efficient incinerators can’t hold back all of it. Irons visits towns in England and France that have high cancer rates that locals blame on neighbouring landfills and incinerators. To show just how bad it can get, he visits Vietnamese children with birth defects caused by ‘Agent Orange,’ a wartime chemical weapon that contains the same dioxins belched out by incinerators. 

"Irons takes us to seemingly idyllic Iceland, where a farmer has to cull all of his livestock because the toxins from the nearby incinerator have contaminated his fields. And that’s from a modern, expensive incinerator that has repeatedly installed the latest and greatest filtration systems.

"Metro Vancouver is planning to build a new incinerator, and Zero Waste BC, the host of Monday’s screening of Trashed, is campaigning the stop it. The project is already taking bids for its construction, but the activists are optimistic because there hasn’t been a new incinerator built in North America since 1997. The project, touted as a waste-to-energy facility, will be a power source, but Zero Waste BC is concerned about its noxious emissions.

Trying to solve the problem

"The documentary isn’t all doom and gloom. Towards the end of the film Irons presents some positive steps groups and individuals are taking. Of course there’s the reduce-reuse-recycle motif, but it’s interesting to learn the extent that it can make a difference, and how recycling can even make sense economically.

"For example, the American recycling rate is only 33%, while San Francisco has managed to achieve a rate of 75% (the filmmakers state that we should be able to recycle a full 90%). If the whole country recycled 75% of their trash, 1.5 million jobs would be created to manage it, and money would be saved by making production processes more efficient.

"Irons also visited a grocery store that uses no packaging, so people bring their own Tupperware and bags. He visited a facility that turns food waste into fertilizer, thus taking composting to the next level. The nice thing about waste reduction is it’s a cause that’s easy to make a difference in.

"The film told me that 58 billion disposable cups are thrown away each year, and I cringed, thinking of the coffee cup I had thrown out that morning. So this morning I brought my own thermos to work, determined that the movie’s message would not be wasted on me."

Vancouver Observer

BBC: "London landfill waste to be burnt near Bristol"

Link to web site

"Landfill waste from six west London boroughs could be burnt near Bristol by the end of 2016.

"Sita UK will build an incinerator at Severnside in the autumn with money from a 25-year contract to burn 300,000 tonnes of London waste a year.

"... The waste will come from Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames."

Let's Recycle: "SITA confirmed for £900m West London contract"

Link to web site

"SITA UK has been formally named as the preferred bidder for the £900 million, 25-year residual waste treatment contract for the West London Waste Authority (WLWA).

"... The contract covers all aspects of treatment including any necessary transport, the operation of transfer stations, and contracts for outputs such as energy and refuse-derived fuel for the West London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames. It will involve handling up to 300,000 tonnes of waste from households per year.

"SITA will take over the operation of two rail-linked waste transfer stations in West London, via which waste collected from more than 1.4 million residents in the boroughs will be transported by rail to a new energy from waste (EfW) facility in Severnside, South Gloucestershire."

Evening Standard: "French-owned Sita UK poised to land £900m waste deal"

Link to web site

"French-owned utility firm Sita UK is set to take over the disposal of rubbish in west London, in a £900 million scheme that will mean 300,000 tonnes of trash a year are no longer sent to landfill.

"Sita UK, part of Suez Environnement, is leading a consortium that plans to collect the waste from six boroughs and burn it in a new purpose-built electricity plant in Gloucestershire.

"The six councils — Richmond-upon-Thames, Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow — are responsible for collecting rubbish from 1.4 million people, living in 600,000 households.

"At present, the boroughs send waste that cannot be recycled to four landfill sites in Abingdon, Bicester, Calvert and Bletchley."

Independent on Sunday: "UK incinerator plans? They're just rubbish"

Link to web site

"A wave of new publicly-funded incinerators being built to burn rubbish could be mothballed before they are even turned on, amid claims there will not be enough waste to fuel them.

"The Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun withdrawing funding for new incineration plants, with predictions there will be nothing for them to burn. Support for a scheme in Liverpool was withdrawn last month, following the removal of funding for projects in North and West Yorkshire.

"The UK already has 32 rubbish incinerators, but plans for 100 new ones are in the planning stages with local authorities around the country. The rush to build the new plants is rooted in the idea that they can be a cheaper alternative to sending rubbish to landfill, while creating renewable energy at the same time."

West London Waste Authority: Procurement effort falls apart!

TATA and E-ON abandon West London waste contract

"CHAIN has been officially informed that TATA and E-ON have withdrawn from the tendering process for the West London Waste Authority (WLWA) waste contract, and did not submit a final bid before the deadline that expired on 28 February 2013. Consequently, the sole remaining bid is from SITA UK Limited. Had TATA and E-ON been successful, they intended to transport 300,000 tonnes per annum of municipal waste a distance 200 miles from London to Lostock, a residential part of Northwich, for incineration.

"In a letter from their solicitors, both companies indicate that they will seek other waste contracts to fuel the incinerator.  CHAIN is currently challenging the Government decision to grant planning permission for the Northwich incinerator by way of a judicial review that is scheduled to be heard on 1 May in the High Court at Manchester.

"Brian Cartwright, CHAIN Chairman, stated:

“We must give a guarded welcome to this decision because it was always irresponsible nonsense to be seriously contemplating sending Londoners’ rubbish halfway up the country to Cheshire to be incinerated. You will not be surprised to hear that CHAIN and many of our supporters, including members of Cheshire West and Chester Council, have been in contact with the Board of the WLWA on many occasions and pointed this out to them.

We are concerned that TATA and E-ON say that they intend to seek other contracts to supply waste to feed the monster they want to build, practically in the centre of Northwich. It is to be hoped that they will pause before they do so, and review the whole basis of their project. I have in mind, for example, the recent research report by independent experts that there will be 6.9 million tonnes excess treatment capacity, which includes incineration, in the UK by 2015/16. Quite simply, there will not be near enough waste to go round.

Here in the North West, with huge new plants going up in Runcorn and near Frodsham, the situation will be even worse. There are real risks that people will be deterred from recycling and incinerator operators would have to import garbage from across Europe for burning, which would be utter insanity.

CHAIN and the people of Northwich have been fighting together against an incinerator in the town for over five years and we are determined to stay in the fight for as long as it takes. We are very hopeful that our legal challenge will succeed, although we are still seeking financial support from the public which would improve our prospects. There is also the distinct possibility that municipalities and local councils in the UK who may be seeking ways of treating their waste will see the injustice and folly of sending it to what is a highly populated residential part of a small town in Cheshire for burning. No waste, no waste incinerator.”

MRW: "Incinerator plan 'would breach law', report says"

Link to MRW web site

"A campaign group and council are locked in a war of words over claims that the case for an incinerator is unsound.

"Pressure group Glosvain is opposed to plans for the Javelin Park incinerator, near Gloucester, which Gloucestershire County Council’s intends to develop with Urbaser Balfour Beatty.

"Glosvain commissioned Rebecca Colley-Jones, of consultant Ynys Resources, who is also chair of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management in Wales, to carry out an independent investigation of the council’s case.

"She concluded that the incinerator would not comply with EU and UK law, that the council had seriously over-estimated future waste requirements and that the economic case for the installation had collapsed following the end of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS).

"Colley-Jones said the proposed incinerator would be so inefficient that it must be classified not as recovery but disposal, at the bottom of the waste hierarchy."

WLWA announces procurement timetable

"The West London Waste Authority (WLWA) has short-listed two bidders for the long-term West London Residual Waste Services contract covering the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, and Richmond upon Thames.

"Two bidders:

• a consortium of E.ON Energy from Waste AG with Tata Chemicals Europe Limited, and 
• SITA UK Limited

are in the final stage of the competitive dialogue process.

"Final tenders are to be submitted by 28 February 2013. WLWA expects to be in a position to select its preferred bidder in April 2013 to enable the new services to start in April 2015, but WLWA is exploring with bidders the opportunity for an earlier start to begin diversion from landfill as soon as possible.

"The contract involves handling up to 300,000 tonnes of residual waste per year generated by a population of 1.4 million people, and covers all aspects of treatment including any necessary transport, the operation of transfer stations, and contracts for outputs such as energy, refuse-derived fuel, and recyclates.

"Bids were invited from 'single entity' companies, consortia, or joint ventures and WLWA offered its three waste transfer stations at Brentford, South Ruislip and Park Royal as part of the procurement but also welcomed proposals involving sites within bidders’ control or which they intend to acquire.

"West London already recycles or composts almost 40% of its household waste, more than any other sub region of London. The new contract will allow continued flexibility to increase recycling up to at least 50% by 2020 and WLWA will focus even more on waste minimisation schemes in the future."

28 February 
Final Tenders Submitted

28 February to 5 April 
Evaluation of Final Tenders

12 April 
Project Board Meeting

26 April 
Authority Meeting

29 April 2013 
Announcement of Preferred Bidder

"So far as the Authority’s Residual Waste Procurement is concerned, we are fortunate in that we have come to the market somewhat later than many other authorities. As a consequence we have been able to review similar previous procurements. This has permitted us to adopt the best practice principles that the more successful of these other procurements have identified.

"In addition, the Authority is utilising the WIDP-developed contractual documentation as the basis of the procurement. WIDP is by the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programmes, which is a specialist department within DEFRA.

"This documentation has been developed from the experience gained on a number of large waste procurements. Additionally, the documentation has benefited from the input of HM Treasury on financial issues. This documentation is seen as a benchmark for well-managed procurements.

"Finally, the procurement process has also benefited from the experience of a WIDP transactor (a professional with experience upon a number of previous similar procurements) advising us. And of course, we also have a number of specialist consultants advising on legal, financial and technical issues.

"... The WLWA can confirm that the Authority has modelled various waste growth/reduction scenarios. These provided the basis upon which the waste arisings contained within the bidding process were calculated. All scenarios were based upon recycling achieving a level of 50% across the Authority area."

"Row ignites as rubbish mounts"

Link to story in Uxbridge Gazette


"A PLAN that could send 300,000 tonnes of rubbish a year from London boroughs including Hillingdon to Cheshire for burning has sparked outrage.

"The West London Waste Authority (WLWA) has put out to tender a contract to treat waste, which cannot be recycled, from its member boroughs: Hillingdon, Ealing, Harrow, Brent, Hounslow and Richmond.

"One of the bids is a joint venture between Tata Chemicals Europe and E.ON Energy, under which an incinerator about the size of Wembley Stadium would be built close to the town of Northwich."

Link to opposition group web site

LocalGov: "Recycling: A very expensive backward step"

Link to web site

"Next week’s Judicial Review in Cardiff could spell the end for commingled dry recycling collections in England and Wales. That would be a very expensive and unnecessary backward step.

"If, at the end of the three day hearing on 28th February, Mr Justice Barton supports the action brought by the Campaign for Real Recycling (CRR), then hundreds of local authorities could collectively shudder at the thought of spending millions to change their commingled recycling collections to some form of kerbside-sort."

South Wales Argus: "Could Newport pull out of South Wales waste scheme?"

Link to web site

"Newport council is due next Tuesday to approve a business case for Prosiect Gwyrdd, which will see non-recyclable rubbish burned in a Cardiff incineration plant.

"But one councillor in the ruling group, who did not want to be named, says the multi-million pound scheme has huge implications for Newport, which will be tied into a contract for a quarter of a century. 

"The councillor said:

"The length of the contract is an issue. We are being asked to look at a contract that is going to affect not just our children, but our children's children.

The amount of waste that would be feeding the incinerator has been in decline."

Friends of the Earth: "Make It Better"

Link to Friends of the Earth

"The Make It Better campaign is all about improving the way that our products are made.

"We should all think about the impact the things we buy have on the world. But it should be up to the companies that make them to ensure they don't hurt people and the environment.

"With Make It Better we're calling for tough new rules to make companies come clean about the full impact of their production. This would be a huge step towards reducing the dangerous strain being placed upon our planet.

"We also want to celebrate the positive steps companies are taking, and how innovative design can reduce the environmental impact of our favourite items.

"We'd love you to join in, starting with one of today's most popular products: the smartphone. ..."

"What a waste: Eric Pickles slams council's £3.8bn contract." (Wait a minute, isn't the West London Waste Authority...)

Link to Manchester Evening News

"Communites secretary Eric Pickles has attacked Manchester council for its part in a £3.8bn contract to manage the city’s waste.

The Tory cabinet minister claimed the 25-year deal between Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and Viridor Laing was signed off at double the market rate.

Speaking at the New Local Government Annual Conference, Mr Pickles claimed ratepayers were being hit in the pocket by the ‘shoddy deal’ and said:

"In Manchester, their council tax this year is being forced up by a botched PFI deal signed by the unelected waste authority, a 25-year deal which means they are paying double the market rates to dispose of their residual waste. A shoddy deal by a shadowy, unelected body, with no-one taking responsibility, and local taxpayers left with service cuts and higher taxes."

The Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

Source: "Green Thing":

"This is one the most heart-warming and inspiring videos we’ve seen this year. Or last year.

"It is the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra - a group of very talented kids from a slum in Paraguay, playing instruments made from rubbish dug from the landfill that they live on.

"You have to watch to see just how incredible these musical instruments and musical teenagers are. But prepare to be amazed at how beautiful the music sounds.

"If you want to donate to help get the film about these amazing children made, then click here."

Evening Standard: "Councils are ignoring the Government by threatening to fine residents £1,000 if they don't recycle."

Link to Daily Telegraph

"Martin Hunt, Colchester Borough Council's waste boss, has applied for new powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The legislation allows him to order dust carts not to pick up rubbish from serial offenders' homes. He said:

"People are being put off recycling because they can see other people getting away with not doing it.

People are saying: 'why should I bother with recycling when my neighbour is putting 12 black sacks out?'

They feel they are paying for someone else not doing what they could be doing, but by me having these powers, it could put a stop to that."