Government throws more than £300m worth of PFI cash at waste projects

The government today announced plans for more than £300m worth of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) investment to help fund three flagship waste management projects intended to cut the amount of organic waste sent to landfill.

A total of £319m worth of PFI credits are to be awarded to biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) management projects currently being planned by Hertfordshire County Council, Norfolk County Council and the South London Waste Partnership, which includes Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, and Sutton local authorities.

Environment minister Jane Kennedy welcomed the move, adding that the investment would "create a real incentive for local authorities and industry to work together to reduce waste as well as reducing the environmental impact of landfill".

According to the government, the projects will divert a total of 342,600 tonnes of biodegradable municipal waste from landfill each year by 2020, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 137,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

In addition, the projects are expected to create over 1,000 jobs during construction and a further 100 once the plants are operational.

Hertfordshire County Council is planning to use the money to part-fund its plans for a £200m waste treatment plant, which will also feature waste-to-energy technology capable of generating electricity and heat from the organic waste.

A spokeswoman for Norfolk Council Council said that it too was planning to build a new waste treatment facility, but had not yet decided the type of technology to be used.