Two companies on shortlist to build controversial waste plant

A site at Bolton Road in Manvers has been provisionally earmarked for the 77m development, which is set to open in 2015.

The plant would take rubbish from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham and the earmarked site lies near the borders of all three authorities.

Yesterday, it was announced that Sita Lend Lease and 3SE, a consortium of Shanks Group plc and Scottish and Southern Energy, were the two companies to make the final shortlist for the scheme.

Four waste specialist organisations had put forward different proposals to build and run the facility, using a range of different technologies.

Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham councils, working together as the BDR Waste Partnership, will now further evaluate the two shortlisted schemes before making a final decision later this year.

Chairman of the BDR Waste Partnership board, Richard Russell, said: "It has been a tough decision to take with such high quality and innovative proposals on the table. We will now be looking in more detail at what both bidders are proposing before making a final choice.

"It is essential for us to select the proposal which will work best for this project and our three communities and provide the most effective and beneficial solution."

A total of 77.4m of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding has been secured from central government's Waste Infrastructure Development Programme to pay for the new plant.

It is estimated that the site will deal with in excess of 200,000 tons of waste per year – almost 600 tons per day – delivered by lorries to the site from Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.

However, the scheme has proved highly controversial with residents. An action group called Bolton And Dearne Households Against Recycling in Manvers – or BAD HARM – has been formed to fight the scheme, claiming that the burning of waste could be hazardous to people's health.

Campaigners also say that locals have not been adequately consulted on the plans.

If the 3SE project is chosen, the firm will use waste treatment technology to produce a renewable or "green" fuel for use at Scottish and Southern Energy's Ferrybridge site. The "green" energy produced can then be used by residents and businesses.

Meanwhile, the Sita UK and Catalyst Lend Lease consortium would build the Dearne Valley Treatment and Energy Centre (TEC), a hi-tech recycling and renewable energy plant.

Mr Russell added: "This project is vital to us achieving our aim of reducing the amount we send to landfill. All local authorities must do this – if we don't, we face very heavy fines.

"At the moment, most of this leftover waste goes to landfill, but

landfill sites across thecountry are almost full, and they produce harmful greenhouses gases which damage the environment.

"We want a solution which will be environmentally friendly. It will also create up to 300 jobs during the construction phase, with up to 80 permanent jobs after that, many of which will be filled by local people.

"However, nothing will go ahead until there has been a full planning application. This means local people will be able to look at the detailed proposals and comment on them."

The preferred scheme will be chosen later this year. Then, once planning and other permissions are granted, construction work will

begin that is expected to take two-and-a-half years.