Plans To Replace Ageing City Incinerator

20 February 2026
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Richard PriceWest Midlands


Plans to change an aging incinerator with a more efficient one are because of be analyzed by city leaders.


A new energy healing plant, for Hanford, near Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, would power the equivalent of about 50,000 homes, the authority said.


They included it could likewise create a "considerable" income which might be reinvested into local recycling and net absolutely no schemes.


The contract for the current incinerator at Hanford ends in March 2030, when it will be 35 years old and at the end of its functional life.


The project could also be a major contributor to the city's district heating network to provide public buildings with low-carbon heating and warm water, powered by geothermal energy, a spokesperson stated.


The city council's cabinet is being asked to begin a formal procurement process to discover an organisation to partner with, who might invest, style, develop and run the new facility.


That procedure was expected to take 18 months, with the proposed facility scheduled to be up and running in 2032.


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker stated the current facility had actually burnt more than four million tonnes of rubbish because it opened in 1995, offering a "sustainable alternative" to landfill.


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


Waste boost


This would involve a more substantial upfront financial investment than other alternatives, Gordon-McCusker said.


But it was anticipated that the authority would earn a profit from the scheme in the longer term, he claimed, through the sale of electrical energy and heat as well as costs charged to other using the site for their waste.


The new site might deal with about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be an increase of between 10-38% of present levels.


A public assessment will run throughout March and April.