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 efficient one are because of be examined by city leaders.


A brand-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 included it might also generate a "significant" income which might be reinvested into local recycling and net no plans.


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 .


The job could likewise be a significant contributor to the city's district heating network to provide public structures 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 process to discover an organisation to partner with, who might invest, design, build and run the new center.


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 stated the present center had burnt more than four million tonnes of rubbish because it opened in 1995, offering a "sustainable option" to garbage dump.


The council desired to consider an "entrepreneurial" approach to running the center, he added.


Waste increase


This would involve a more substantial upfront investment than other choices, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was anticipated that the authority would make a revenue from the scheme in the longer term, he declared, through the sale of electricity and heat in addition to costs charged to other organisations using the website for their waste.


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


A public assessment will run throughout March and April.