A ground-breaking approach to give Dudley Council flexibility in shaping its energy, heat and waste strategy could save up to £2 million a year.

Dudley Council has appointed Urbaser Environmental Ltd, UK waste treatment division for Cheltenham based environmental services company Urbaser Ltd, to manage the day-to-day running of its Lister Road energy from waste plant, where it disposes its household and trade waste.

As part of the new contract, the council will benefit from being able to sell the energy back to the national grid, which has the potential to generate substantial income for the council.

This, combined with a lower processing fee per tonne of household waste, is expected to save the council approximately £2 million a year.

In addition to generating significant savings and generating income, the council hopes that in the future the electricity created through the plant could also be used to power its electric vehicles and council buildings.

The new three-year contract began in February with an option to extend it for another two years. Councillor Rob Clinton, cabinet member for waste management and climate change, said:

“It goes without saying that our priority as a council is to encourage everyone to recycle more and reduce the amount of waste they produce.

“As an authority, we must dispose of household waste in the most efficient and cost-effective way. We’re really pleased to be working with Urbaser under the new arrangement.

“The contract will offer up significant financial savings in the short-term and has the potential to generate substantial income from the sale of the electricity we produce, which is great news for public purse.

“We hope in the future to use the electricity we produce to power our vehicles and buildings, which could reduce our demand on fuel and gas.”

The council’s energy from waste facility has been operational since 1998 and continues to provide a waste treatment solution on behalf all residents within the borough as well as a number of commercial customers.

Urbaser is a leading global environmental management company, focused on sustainability and innovation, serving more than 70 million people in 21 countries through a network of more than 59,000 employees.

In the United Kingdom, Urbaser Ltd is a leading waste management company, offering a wide range of municipal, commercial, and waste treatment and recovery services which are dedicated to conserving resources, reducing carbon emissions, and achieving a circular economy.