Royal Borough domestic rubbish now being turned into renewable energy as 15-year contract begins

Domestic rubbish collected by the council will no longer be put in landfills as the borough's new waste disposal contract begins today.

Waste which is not already put in recycling bins will now be turned into renewable energy at Viridor's facility in Ardley, Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The new contract, which the borough says will save it £500,000 a year, runs for 15 years, with two potential five-year extensions.

Around 36,000 tonnes of non-recycled rubbish will be saved from being buried in landfills.

Cllr Carwyn Cox, cabinet member for environmental services, said: "We are delighted we have made the move away from putting our non-recycled rubbish into expensive and harmful landfill.

"However, while sending our rubbish to an energy recovery facility is far more environmentally friendly and less expensive than landfill, it is still considerably cheaper and more energy efficient to continue to recycle as much of our rubbish as we can."

Cllr David Burbage, council leader, said: "We are pleased to award this contract to Viridor and look forward to a positive working partnership with them throughout the life of the contract.

"The newly opened plant offers state-of-the-art technology as our non-recycled rubbish is turned into renewable energy. Viridor is highly regarded in its field and the new contract will allow us to maintain a high quality service for our residents while delivering substantial savings for the council."

Derek Edwards, south east regional managing director for Viridor, said: "As a business we're giving the world's resources new life by transforming what society throws away into valuable raw materials and energy. Our state-of-the-art energy plant in Ardley is already doing that to residual waste from homes in Oxfordshire and now the Royal Borough will be able to sustainably treat waste that cannot be recycled and turn it into renewable energy."