5,000 jobs hope as £640m Greater Manchester Waste deal is signed off

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GMWDA will divert more than 75 per cent of Greater Manchester’s waste away from landfill, more than any other UK local authority. GMWDA is currently responsible for five per cent of the UK’s municipal waste

3:59 pm, April 8, 2009
5,000 jobs hope as £640m Greater Manchester Waste deal is signed off

By Simon Binns

Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) has signed a 25 year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) waste and recycling contract with Viridor Laing (Greater Manchester) Limited.

The deal will trigger a £640m construction programme creating a network of new recycling facilities over the next five years, creating around 5,000 jobs in the building sector and 620 jobs at Greater Manchester Waste, based in Bolton.

Viridor Laing is planning to increase the permanent workforce by another 116 staff once the facilities are up and running.

This contract is worth £3.8bn to Viridor Laing and GMWDA said it would increase costs to Greater Manchester householders by an estimated £1 per week, compared to £2 a week of landfill tax and penalties which would have been payable if no new facilities been built.

The authority currently handles 1.3m tonnes of municipal waste a year. The new contract will give the Greater Manchester area the capacity to recycle and compost at least 50 per cent of all waste by 2015.

GMWDA will divert more than 75 per cent of Greater Manchester’s waste away from landfill, more than any other UK local authority. GMWDA is currently responsible for five per cent of the UK’s municipal waste.

The contract has been signed after two years of work between the authority, Viridor Laing and funders.

Councillor Neil Swannick, chair of the GMWDA and lead Labour member, said: “I am delighted that we have at last signed the contract with Viridor Laing. Greater Manchester’s waste management solution is the best for the environment and the local economy: saving natural resources, generating green electricity and creating jobs.”

Viridor managing director, Mike Hellings, said: “The start of the contract marks the beginning of an important chapter in the way Greater Manchester deals with its resources and wastes. Throughout history Greater Manchester has been at the forefront of new technologies and this tradition now continues with a sustainable waste management solution worthy of its engineering heritage.”

The contract will utilise a range of new technologies, including Mechanical Biological Treatment with Anaerobic Digestion, a Materials Recovery Facility and Combined Heat and Power; and Greater Manchester’s network of 25 Household Waste Recycling Centres will be increased and upgraded.

Residual waste that cannot be recycled will be processed into a fuel for use by a North West major chemicals producer Ineos Chlor to provide energy for its plant at Runcorn, Cheshire, instead of being sent to landfill.

manchesternews@crain.com