Plans To Replace Ageing City Incinerator

20 February 2026
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Richard PriceWest Midlands


Plans to change an ageing incinerator with a more efficient one are because of be taken a look at by city leaders.


A new energy recovery plant, for Hanford, near Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, would power the equivalent of about 50,000 homes, the authority stated.


They added it might likewise generate a "substantial" earnings which might be reinvested into regional recycling and net zero plans.


The agreement for the present incinerator at Hanford ends in March 2030, when it will be 35 years old and at the end of its functional life.


The task might likewise be a major factor to the city's district heating network to provide public buildings with low-carbon heating and hot water, powered by geothermal energy, a spokesperson said.


The city board's cabinet is being asked to begin a formal procurement procedure to discover an organisation to partner with, who could invest, design, construct and run the brand-new facility.


That process was expected to take 18 months, with the proposed facility scheduled to be up and running in 2032.


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker said the existing facility had burnt more than 4 million tonnes of rubbish since it opened in 1995, providing a "sustainable option" to garbage dump.


The to consider an "entrepreneurial" method to running the facility, he included.


Waste boost


This would involve a more considerable upfront financial investment than other alternatives, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was expected that the authority would make a profit from the plan in the longer term, he declared, through the sale of electrical power and heat as well as charges charged to other organisations utilizing the website for their waste.


The new site could manage about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be an increase of in between 10-38% of existing levels.


A public assessment will run throughout March and April.