Landfill use to end in Essex next year, council says

The Bellhouse site in Stanway, Colchester, is one of many sites used for landfilling in Essex

Landfill will stop being used in Essex next year as part of a new £1bn waste contract, a council said.

Essex County Council said its new residual waste treatment contractor had committed to an "impressive" move away from landfill by 1 October 2025.

It is more than two years sooner than the authority's requirement to scrap landfill by January 2028.

Peter Schwier, the councillor responsible for environment, waste reduction, and recycling, said it would "really benefit the environment and help us achieve our net zero ambitions".

A new seven-year contract was awarded to Indaver Rivenhall Limited on Thursday.

The contract could be extended by up to another seven years, the council said.

It could be worth more than £1bn over the potential 14 years.

An incinerator is under construction in Rivenhall

Indaver started work to build a £400m incinerator at a former airbase in Rivenhall, near Witham, in 2021.

The company hopes the incinerator will take 595,000 tonnes of waste annually from next year.

Essex County Council previously said it must be fully operational by the end of 2026.

A longer term waste strategy is being considered for adoption by city, district, and borough councils in Essex, Conservative councillor Mr Schwier added.