Plans to replace ageing city incinerator

Plans to replace an ageing incinerator with a more efficient one are due to be examined by city leaders.

A new energy recovery plant, for Hanford, near Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, would power the equivalent of about 50,000 homes, the authority said.

They added it could also generate a "significant" income which could be reinvested into local recycling and net zero schemes.

The contract for the current incinerator at Hanford ends in March 2030, when it will be 35 years old and at the end of its serviceable life.

The project could also be a major contributor to the city's district heating network to provide public buildings with low-carbon heating and hot water, powered by geothermal energy, a spokesperson said.

The city council's cabinet is being asked to start a formal procurement process to find an organisation to partner with, who could invest, design, build and run the new facility.

That process was expected to take 18 months, with the proposed facility scheduled to be up and running in 2032.

Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker said the current facility had burnt more than four million tonnes of rubbish since it opened in 1995, providing a "sustainable alternative" to landfill.

The council wanted to consider an "entrepreneurial" approach to running the facility, he added.

This would involve a more significant upfront investment than other options, Gordon-McCusker said.

But it was expected that the authority would make a profit from the scheme in the longer term, he claimed, through the sale of electricity and heat as well as fees charged to other organisations using the site for their waste.

The new site could handle about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be an increase of between 10-38% of current levels.

A public consultation will run during March and April.

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