The West of England exports nearly 90,000 tonnes of household waste for incineration in Europe, powering thousands of houses on the continent.
That could change under a new £21million contract being signed by the four councils that will see the waste burnt in Avonmouth - a process with the “lowest possible carbon footprint available”.
The waste will be processed in two “energy from waste” plants that can generate enough electricity to power 127,280 homes. The heat the process produces could also be put to use.
Suez already has an active facility in Avonmouth, while Viridor’s is due to open by April 2020. It says the centre will “use safe, environmentally sustainable and reliable technology to divert 320,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste away from landfill”.
A report to North Somerset Council, a member of the West of England waste partnership, says: “The recovery of energy from waste that cannot be avoided, reused or recycled is preferable to disposal in landfill.
“The use of the treatment plant for processing of household and bulky waste will divert material from landfill and instead will either be recycled or used as a refuse-derived fuel.”
A spokesperson for the West of England waste partnership, which is also made up of the councils of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset, said: “The carbon benefit has not been calculated, but reducing landfill and increasing recycling will have a positive impact on the councils’ carbon footprints.
“Also, the two energy recovery facilities both have the potential to supply heat for a network when it becomes viable in the Avonmouth area, therefore providing further carbon benefits in the future.”
The West of England waste partnership currently processes 120,800 tonnes of residual waste at a mechanical biological treatment in Avonmouth.
The majority - nearly three quarters of the non-recyclable material left over - is currently exported to energy recovery facilities in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.
All of the councils say they are committed to reducing waste and work collaboratively across the region to reduce waste as well as on local initiatives and priorities.
B&NES Council is aiming to achieve Plastic Free Communities status for the area by April 2020 and will prioritise increasing food waste recycling.
Bristol City Council has a commitment to “produce the lowest amount of residual household waste per person per year of any UK core city and aims for a target of below 150 kg per person per year by 2025”.
It was the top performing English core city in 2017/18, with a recycling rate of 44.9 per cent.
The authority has a target to recycle 65 per cent of its waste by 2030 but says it will be challenging for a city of Bristol’s size.
The three other councils in the partnership each had a recycling rate of 58 per cent.
North Somerset Council will continue to support residents, schools and other stakeholders to recycle more. A spokesperson said: “The volume of waste per household is reducing despite housing growth and we are committed to continuing this trend.”
South Gloucestershire Council is consulting on a new target to reduce waste by 8 per cent of 2020 levels by 2030.
The contract has been signed but the councils are in a "cooling off" period.
If approved, Suez and Viridor will process 170,000 tonnes of “residual” waste. Another firm, ETM Recycling, will handle 45,000 tonnes of “bulky” waste when the 10-year contract starts in April 2020.
