Late start for £122m giant incinerator as plans for full operation delayed by month
A giant incinerator that will eventually generate power for more than 30,000 homes will be fully operational from next week – a month later than first planned.
The £122 million facility in Four Ashes off the A449 Stafford Road, between Cannock and Wolverhampton, started accepting rubbish in November.
But it will become fully operational on January 31, it was revealed today.
The site will take rubbish that cannot be recycled from Staffordshire, Walsall, Sandwell and Worcestershire.
Waste will be transported to the site and burnt in a process that produces steam, which drives turbines for electricity.
It has also emerged that the amount of rubbish taken to the site by Cannock Chase Council between November and the end of December was much lower than planned due to 'technical issues'.
In a report by the council's head of housing and waste management, Ian Tennant, it said: "The phased deliveries have been lower than planned during certain weeks due to technical issues with the new plant.
"The facility is programmed to be fully operational by January 31 with the council disposing of all residual household and trade collection waste at the Four Ashes site.
"Construction of the facility has now finished and landscaping works are programmed for completion later this month."
In the report to the Environment Policy Development Committee, who meet on Wednesday, it states 3,159 tons should have been taken to the facility over the past few months but the actual amount taken was 2,239 tons.
Mr Tennant added: "A number of technical issues with the new facility have resulted in the actual amount of waste taken to the new facility being lower than planned."
It goes on to say the most serious issue related to a 'week's shutdown' in early December to enable repairs and modifications to the boiler. And a valve failure resulted in a further three-day shutdown.
