25 FEBRUARY 2008 - HUNDREDS VISIT EXHIBITIONS ON CHESHIRE ENERGY-FROM-WASTE PROPOSAL

ALMOST 300 local residents attended the public exhibitions on Covanta Energy’s proposals for an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant in Middlewich.

Newsletters had been sent to 5,800 homes and businesses in the town, and adverts placed in the local newspapers, inviting residents to call in at the exhibitions, which were held last week in Middlewich Community Church, Brooks Lane.

Covanta Managing Director Malcolm Chilton was delighted with the response: “We were extremely pleased that so many individuals took the time to come and talk to us.

“A wide range of opinions were expressed, with the vast majority of people preferring EfW to landfill as a means of treating the waste that cannot be recycled.

“Whilst some people were opposed to our plans, I spoke to many people who were happy with the proposal and understood the reasons behind the selection of the site. However, a common theme raised by many of the local residents was concern about the impact of additional traffic on the already congested road network. We have listened to these concerns and hope to be able to address the issue more thoroughly in the near future.”

He also added that the curved design had been the favourite architectural option, and would be incorporated into the plans.

Covanta will now finalise the planning application for submission to Cheshire County Council, anticipated to be in Spring this year.

The proposed site is on the Midpoint 18 Business Park. The plant is sized to handle all Cheshire’s non-recyclable household waste and generate 38MW of power. Low-cost electricity will be offered to around 20,000 local homes, and Covanta is investigating the feasibility of offering surplus heat at a discounted rate to neighbouring businesses.

ENDS

Background
Government and EU legislation requires a 65% reduction in the amount of UK biodegradable household waste sent to landfill by 2020 from the 1995 levels.

Failure to dramatically reduce our dependence on landfill will result in heavy financial penalties, totalling millions of pounds, which could lead to an increase in council taxes.

Thermal treatment of waste is supported by the UK Government legislation, Regional Waste Strategy for the North West (RWS) and the Cheshire Waste Local Plan.

Editor’s notes

• Covanta Energy is an international Energy from Waste provider with over 20 years of experience in the industry.
  
• Covanta Energy entered the UK market in 2005, with an office at Kingswinford, and is building a team to manage the UK operations.
  
• Covanta’s Energy-from-Waste system is the most affordable and practical solution for treating residual waste. By investing in larger plants, Covanta is able to maximise economies of scale and pass these savings on to the local authority.
  
• Covanta’s system enables local authorities to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and guarantee they meet their landfill diversion targets.
  
• Covanta undertakes all design, construction and project management elements when developing new sites; reducing the risk and additional cost of using turnkey contractors.
  
• Malcolm Chilton is Managing Director of Covanta Energy Ltd. Malcolm joined Covanta in November 2005. Previously he was founder of Energy Power Resources Ltd (EPR). Prior to EPR, Malcolm was a director of AEP Ltd, now part of Violia. For much of the 1990s Malcolm was chairman of the Energy from Waste Association, an industry association set up to lobby government on issues affecting the EfW industry.

Further information
For more information, please contact Alex Doyle or Deborah Ward at Pendragon Consultants on 0161 288 2888.