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 effective one are because of be analyzed 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 included it might likewise produce a "considerable" earnings which might be reinvested into regional recycling and net no schemes.


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


The task might also be a significant factor to the city's district heating network to provide public buildings with low-carbon heating and hot water, powered by geothermal energy, a representative stated.


The city board's cabinet is being asked to begin an official procurement procedure to find an organisation to partner with, who might invest, style, build and run the new facility.


That procedure was expected to take 18 months, with the proposed center arranged to be up and running in 2032.


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


The council wished to think about an "entrepreneurial" method to running the center, he added.


Waste boost


This would include a more considerable in than other choices, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was anticipated that the authority would earn a profit from the scheme in the longer term, he claimed, through the sale of electricity and heat as well as charges charged to other organisations using the site for their waste.


The brand-new website 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.