According to publicly available data, a proportion of the council’s disposal waste is sent for incineration each year.

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

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?)
No minimum calorific value.

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?
No sharing arrangement.

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?
No delay requested as food waste collections are already in place.

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.
WBC is part of a PFI with Reading and Bracknell Councils known as re3. Start: Dec 2006, contract term: 25 years. Estimates for total overall value is C £63.534m

6.
a) 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?
b) Can you please return the tonnage for the 23/24 financial year, the 22/23 financial year and the 21-22 financial year.
MDR
2021/22: 2164.39 Kerbside and HWRC
2022/23: 2445.60 Kerbside and HWRC
2023/24: 2121.37 Kerbside and HWRC

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.
Locations as shown below
23/24 Lakeside EFW, Colnbrook Allington EFW, Maidstone
WBC only 24133.50 829.59

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?
WBC has a break clause for the 10,000tpa which can be exercised in the event that they do not need to send waste to EfW - due to recycling more, or other tonnage reductions in waste for disposal.