Cambridgeshire CC has signed a 28-year recycling PFI contract with local firm, Donarbon Waste Management, worth £730m. The new contract will see state-of-the-art recycling facilities built at Waterbeach, in an effort to cut the amount of waste from Cambridgeshire's growing population. The new recycling plant will include a mechanical biological treatment facility to remove material for recycling from household waste before producing a compost-like material. The council has received £35m in PFI credits from the Government for this scheme. A visitor centre will also be built at the plant, where local schoolchildren will be able to learn more about recycling. Additional facilities for the composting of garden waste will also be provided as part of the contract. The county council has topped national league tables to recycling and composting since 2003-2004, and is on track to exceed its target of 50% for 2007-2008. ‘We are extremely pleased to be working with Cambridgeshire CC and all the district councils in the county on this exciting new project,' said Donarbon managing director, Mark Davenport. ‘This is a major new investment for a company of our size, and so we will put every effort into ensuring that the contract runs smoothly, and we look forward to working with all local residents as well as the councils to promote more recycling through the new waste-treatment facilities we are building, as well as the education centre.' Cambridgeshire CC's lead member for planning and regional matters, Cllr John Reynolds, said: ‘Helping secure a greener future for our children and grandchildren has always been at the heart of this contract. ‘We are very pleased to have laid the foundations for managing Cambridgeshire's waste over the next 28 years.'
