Arc21, a consortium of six councils in Northern Ireland, has awarded a short term landfill contract to Whitemountain Quarries and Biffa, while its residual waste treatment project remains in the planning stage.
The 18-month contract, which was awarded in two lots, was valued at £80 million and covers 220,000 tonnes over the course of the contract.
An artist’s impression of the proposed arc21 facility
Whitemountain Quarries, in lot 1 of the contract, will be providing residual waste disposal services to Ards and North Down borough council, as well as Belfast city and Lisburn and Castlereagh city councils, with a minimum capacity of 155,000 tonnes over the period of the contract.
Biffa will provide services in lot 2 of the contract, to Antrim and Newtownabbey council, and Mid and East Antrim borough council, which will require a minimum capacity of 70,000 over the period.
A contract award notice showed that lot 1 was worth £56 million, while lot 2 was worth £24 million.
Previous landfill contracts were awarded to Biffa and Alpha Resource Management Ltd in 2016 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Residual waste treatment project
Arc21’s plans for its £240 million waste treatment project is still in planning after attempts to get it passed by Northern Ireland’s department of the Environment.
The projects latest development includes Arc21 securing an electricity grid connection from Northern Ireland Electricity Networks in July (see letsrecycle.com story).
The developers of the project said that the connection will facilitate enough power for up to 30,000 home and contribute more than 50,000 MWh pe ear towards Northern Irish renewable energy targets.
The project has also been deemed ‘essential’ by a business consultancy in June, as Northern Ireland faces ‘significant challenges’ in managing its waste. It consists of a mechanical biological treatment building, a 220,000 tonnes per annum EfW plant and a visitor centre.
The development was first proposed in March 2013 but has faced a string of planning delays, including having its previous approval deemed unlawful by a High Court judge in 2018.
Arc21 is an umbrella waste management group in Northern Ireland representing 6 councils in the east of the country. These are: Antrim and Newtownabbey borough, Ards and North Down Borough, Belfast city, Lisburn & Castlereagh city, Mid and East Antrim borough and Newry, Mourne and Down district.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
