Buckinghamshire County Council, together with partners FCC Environment who manage the plant on their behalf, welcomed the Duke to the recently-built facility which has revolutionised the way the Council deals with the county’s waste.

The Duke toured the plant and was able to hear from many of the people involved in the project about the state-of-the-art green technology behind the energy from waste process and how the new facility allows Buckinghamshire’s unrecyclable waste to be turned into electricity rather than being dumped into landfill.

(L-R) Paul Taylor, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, Warren Whyte. (photo: Derek Pelling)

Buckinghamshire County Council Cabinet Member for Planning & Environment Warren Whyte (pictured above) said: ‘It’s an honour to welcome the Duke of Gloucester to Buckinghamshire to formally open the Greatmoor Energy from Waste plant. The Duke’s visit really does emphasise the great importance of this project to our county, both environmentally and financially – not only does Greatmoor generate renewable energy from the county’s waste, but it also stands to save local taxpayers £150 million over the lifetime of the contract.‘

Paul Taylor (pictured above), FCC Environment Chief Executive, said: ‘Greatmoor EfW converts Buckinghamshire’s household and business waste – the material that cannot otherwise be recycled – into renewable energy. This will much reduce the county’s previous dependence on landfill. The contract between FCC and the County Council will run for 30 years bringing significant sustainability and economic benefits to Buckinghamshire.‘

The Greatmoor plant will treat up to 300,000 tonnes of residual waste each year and will generate 22 megawatts of electricity, equivalent to the electricity needs of up to 36,000 homes.

The facility will be the primary disposal point for all of Buckinghamshire’s local authority waste. Aylesbury Vale District Council and some of the County’s Household Recycling Centres will deliver waste directly to the facility, with the three southern districts councils (South Bucks, Chiltern and Wycombe) and the rest of the Household Recycling Centres using a Waste Transfer Station at High Heavens near High Wycombe.

The Waste Transfer Station, which has also been constructed as part of the contract between FCC and Buckinghamshire County Council, is used to bulk waste into articulated lorries for onward transport to Greatmoor.