PLANS to invest in a brand new £35million recycling superplant in Coventry have been approved by council chiefs.
Stratford District Council (SDC) will join authorities in Solihull, Nuneaton and Bedworth, North Warwickshire, Rugby and Walsall to build the Regional Materials Recycling Facility (MRF).
SDC’s current contract with Biffa – which sees some 15,000 tonnes of recycling a year delivered to Ettington – will end in 2022.
The aim is for councils to save money on the rising costs of sending recycled waste for processing at private sector facilities.
District council spokesman Coun Ian Shenton said: “The MRF project offers an opportunity to use the district council’s investment power to reduce the long term cost of a key statutory service whilst potentially improving the quality of the recycling service we offer and reducing the impact of climate change.”
The district council will loan £5million to fund plant operator AssetCo and a share of development costs – £2.8million in total – will be taken from the district council’s reserves.
The plant – which could process up to 175,000 tonnes a year – would be built on former allotment land of around eight acres in Coventry.
