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 due to be examined 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 might likewise produce a "substantial" income which could be reinvested into local recycling and net zero plans.


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


The project could likewise be a significant factor to the city's district heating network to provide public buildings with low-carbon heating and warm water, powered by geothermal energy, a spokesperson said.


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, build and run the brand-new facility.


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


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker stated the existing center had actually burnt more than four million tonnes of rubbish given that it opened in 1995, supplying a "sustainable alternative" to land fill.


The council wished to think about an "entrepreneurial" method to running the facility, he added.


Waste increase


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


But it was anticipated that the authority would make an earnings from the plan in the longer term, he declared, through the sale of electricity and heat as well as costs credited other using the website for their waste.


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


A public consultation will run during March and April.