Request for information on the Authority's contract for incineration of black bag waste

Further to our acknowledgement of your request made under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (reference 2024-228), please find our responses to your questions below.

By way of background, North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is the public body that serves the seven north London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, and Waltham Forest. NLWA’s primary statutory duty is to ensure the safe and hygienic disposal of household black bag waste on residents’ behalf. NLWA is also responsible for treatment of household recycling as well as the network of Reuse and Recycling Centres across north London. The sale of recyclable materials is offset against cost of waste disposal for council taxpayers. NLWA actively campaigns to prevent waste at a systemic level.

We are aware that you have issued the same information request to some of our boroughs and have therefore broken down the data on waste tonnages by borough where possible.

1. Can the council detail which companies it currently has a contract with to dispose of waste through incineration?

NLWA has a contract with LondonEnergy Ltd (LEL), a company wholly owned by the NLWA. LEL disposes of household black bag waste at the Energy from Waste (EfW) facility at the EcoPark, Advent Way, London, N18 3AG.

Where surplus waste is received over and above what LEL can process, this is sent by LEL to third party waste disposal companies, who arrange for treatment in other EfW facilities.

2. Can the council state whether either of these contracts require a minimum calorific value to be processed through them each year? If so, what are the arrangements to cover any shortfall (for example, is there a cost and what is that cost?)

There is no requirement for a minimum calorific value in NLWA’s contract with LEL.

3. Is there a benefits sharing arrangement as part of the incineration contract? E.g. income from the energy sold from the incinerator to the grid and/or by products sold from incineration like Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA). Can you provide details of those arrangements?

The income received from energy generation is used to offset LEL’s operating costs and thereby reduce the levy for waste disposal that NLWA must charge its boroughs. As the energy-from-waste facility is wholly publicly owned, NLWA can share any extra income received with the boroughs. In 2022-2023, due to the global rise in energy prices, NLWA was able to provide the boroughs with a £15m rebate.

4. Does the council have an arrangement with central government to delay the collection of food waste beyond March 2026, and if so, is this a result of the existing waste contract?

NLWA has no arrangement with the government to delay food waste collections. NLWA is an advocate for food waste collections and is calling for the government to provide adequate funding where this represents a new burden for local authorities. NLWA has made significant investment in its infrastructure to support food waste collections now and into the future.

5. Can the council also detail the start date of its incineration contract, the overall value and the contract term of the contract including any extensions. In this answer, can the authority explicitly state whether or not the contract is part of a PFI deal. If there are multiple contracts can the council detail each.

The contract between NLWA and LEL commenced on 16 December 2014 and is set to expire on 1 December 2025. There are no provisions in the contract to extend the term, although it is expected that NLWA will enter into a new contract with LEL for continuation of the services beyond 2025. The cost of the services provided under the contract is calculated through a pricing schedule based on quantities of waste treated.

The contract is not part of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

6. Publicly available data details how much waste has been sent for incineration at each waste disposal authority. However I wish to know - at your authority - how much of that waste sent for incineration was initially collected as recycling? Can you please return the tonnage for the 23/24 financial year, the 22/23 financial year and the 21-22 financial year.

The table below sets out the tonnages of waste collected as recycling that were disposed of through incineration in the periods specified, broken down by borough. These are loads of recycling rejected owing to contamination (non-recyclable waste mixed in with the recyclable waste).

Please note:

• The data for 2023/24 is for the first three quarters of the year only. We have not yet collated the data for the fourth quarter.
• As the London Borough of Enfield managed its own recycling contracts in 2021/22 and 2022/23, we do not hold data on waste they collected as recycling in those years.

7. In the 23/24 financial year - can the council detail which incinerator plants waste was sent to, the location of the plant and the quantity in tonnes sent to each incinerator plant.

*To be clear, this question refers to the physical location to which waste is sent for incineration. I am not seeking the name of the company - I am seeking the name of the plant itself and its location.

Most of the black bag waste that NLWA disposes of for the seven boroughs is incinerated at the EfW facility operated by LEL at the EcoPark, Advent Way, London, N18 3AG. The excess waste that LEL cannot treat is delivered to third-party waste disposal companies with whom LEL has contracts. These companies transport the waste to EfW facilities for disposal. The table below sets out the locations of the EfW facilities that each company uses and the tonnages each company treated on NLWA’s behalf in 2023/24.

Please note:

• For waste sent to the third-party waste disposal companies, we do not hold information on the tonnages sent to each EfW facility used; we only hold information on the total waste sent to each company.
• We are unable to break the tonnages down by specific boroughs as they deliver much of their waste to our network of transfer stations to be bulked and transported in consolidated loads. The tonnages shown in the table are the totals for the seven boroughs processed at EfW facilities.

8. Are there any caveats to allow early exit from the above contracts with no fine e.g. if there were a change in government policy or legislation?

If a change in government policy or legislation made it prudent to do so, NLWA would be entitled to terminate the contract with LEL without incurring a fine.

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you may ask for an internal review, which should be submitted within two months of when you received our response to either informationrequests@nlwa.gov.uk or our enquiry form quoting the above reference.

If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may complain to the Information Commissioner, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, or via their online portal. The Information Commissioner will not usually accept complaints before a review has been completed.