Plans To Replace Ageing City Incinerator

20 February 2026
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Richard PriceWest Midlands


Plans to change an ageing incinerator with a more effective one are because of be analyzed by city leaders.


A new energy recovery plant, for Hanford, near Stoke City's Bet365 Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, would power the equivalent of about 50,000 homes, the authority stated.


They added it could also produce a "considerable" earnings which could be reinvested into regional recycling and net zero schemes.


The agreement for the current incinerator at Hanford ends in March 2030, when it will be 35 years old and at the end of its serviceable life.


The task might also be a major contributor to the city's district heating network to provide public structures with low-carbon heating and hot water, powered by geothermal energy, a spokesperson said.


The city council's is being asked to begin a formal procurement procedure to discover an organisation to partner with, who could invest, style, construct and run the brand-new center.


That process was anticipated to take 18 months, with the proposed center scheduled to be up and running in 2032.


Cabinet member Finlay Gordon-McCusker stated the existing facility had burnt more than 4 million tonnes of rubbish since it opened in 1995, supplying a "sustainable alternative" to land fill.


The council wished to think about an "entrepreneurial" approach to running the center, he added.


Waste increase


This would include a more substantial upfront investment than other choices, 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 along with fees charged to other organisations using the site for their waste.


The new site could manage about 230,000-290,000 tonnes of waste each year, which would be an increase of between 10-38% of current levels.


A public assessment will run during March and April.