Plans To Replace Ageing City Incinerator

20 February 2026
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Richard PriceWest Midlands


Plans to replace an ageing incinerator with a more effective one are because of be taken a look at by city leaders.


A brand-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 included it could likewise create a "considerable" income which could be reinvested into local recycling and net zero plans.


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


The task might likewise be a significant factor to the city's district heating network to supply public buildings with low-carbon heating and warm water, powered by geothermal energy, a representative stated.


The city board's cabinet is being asked to start a formal procurement process to discover an organisation to partner with, who could invest, style, construct and run the brand-new facility.


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


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker said the existing center had actually burnt more than 4 million tonnes of rubbish since it opened in 1995, supplying a "sustainable option" to landfill.


The council wished to think about an "entrepreneurial" method to running the facility, he .


Waste increase


This would involve a more substantial in advance investment than other options, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was anticipated that the authority would make a profit from the plan in the longer term, he claimed, through the sale of electricity and heat in addition to fees charged to other organisations utilizing the website for their waste.


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


A public assessment will run during March and April.