£36m-a-year waste deal a mess, says council leader

The multimillion-pound contract which has tied a council into a waste management plant that does not meet environmental standards has been described by the authority's leader as a "mess".

Cambridgeshire County Council still has 10 years to go on a £36m-a-year contract linked to Thalia Waste Management's site near Waterbeach.

However, the facility stopped processing black bag, garden and food waste four years ago.

The Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Lucy Nethsingha, said: "It has been a dreadful contract for Cambridgeshire residents for many years."

Thalia has been contacted for comment.

Under a private finance initiative (PFI) scheme, a private company finances the initial construction of a new public building.

The council said that when it awarded the 28-year PFI contract in 2008, the mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility at the site - which was built to process "black bag" general waste - met the legislative requirements.

However, new conditions were imposed by the Environment Agency in August 2022.

The cost of improving the facilities must be met by the council and the authority is currently paying an extra £100,000 per week to treat the waste.

Also in the contract were the operation of two transfer stations at Alconbury and March and the management of the county's household recycling centres.

Labour councillor Mike Black said it was a "scandal that Cambridgeshire residents are still paying a private company huge amounts of money for the MBT waste treatment plant at Waterbeach".

He claimed "the Liberal Democrat county council has no idea what to do about this disgraceful situation".

Of the contract, Nethsingha said "All of the risk from changes to government rules was left entirely with the county council, and with Cambridgeshire taxpayers.

"Sorting out the mess of this contract is something we are determined to do, and we have made progress, but there is a long way still to go.

"We have asked for help from the Labour government in managing the risks to Cambridgeshire taxpayers, but despite repeated requests we have not had any response from government."

The government said it was working closely with the council following requests for assistance in managing the financial impact of the PFI deal.

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