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 brand-new energy recovery 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 might also create a "substantial" income which might be reinvested into local recycling and net zero schemes.


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


The task might also be a major factor to the city's district to offer public structures with low-carbon heating and hot water, powered by geothermal energy, a representative stated.


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


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


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker stated the present facility had actually burnt more than 4 million tonnes of rubbish because it opened in 1995, offering a "sustainable option" to landfill.


The council wished to consider an "entrepreneurial" technique to running the facility, he included.


Waste increase


This would include a more significant upfront investment than other alternatives, Gordon-McCusker stated.


But it was expected that the authority would make an earnings from the plan in the longer term, he claimed, through the sale of electricity and heat as well as charges charged to other organisations using the website for their waste.


The new site might manage about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be a boost of in between 10-38% of current levels.


A public consultation will run throughout March and April.