Plans To Replace Ageing City Incinerator

20 February 2026
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Richard PriceWest Midlands


Plans to replace an ageing incinerator with a more effective one are due to 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 said.


They added it could likewise generate a "significant" earnings which might be reinvested into local recycling and net absolutely no schemes.


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


The job might also be a significant contributor to the city's district heating network to offer public buildings with low-carbon heating and warm water, powered by geothermal energy, a representative said.


The city council's cabinet is being asked to start an official procurement process to discover an organisation to partner with, who might invest, style, build and run the new center.


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


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker said the current facility had actually burnt more than 4 million tonnes of rubbish because it opened in 1995, providing a "sustainable alternative" to land fill.


The council wanted to think about an "entrepreneurial" technique to running the facility, he added.


Waste boost


This would include a more considerable in advance investment than other alternatives, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was anticipated that the would earn a profit from the scheme in the longer term, he declared, through the sale of electrical energy and heat as well as fees charged to other organisations utilizing the site for their waste.


The brand-new site might handle about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be a boost of in between 10-38% of present levels.


A public assessment will run throughout March and April.