Energy Secretary takes tour of Dudley waste plant which can help raise income for council

Claire Coutinho visited Dudley Council's energy from waste plant on Lister Road with Dudley North MP Marco Longhi.

The energy plant disposes of its household and trade waste to create energy which the council is looking to benefit from by selling it back to the national grid.

The council is also looking to use the energy to power its electric vehicles and council buildings.

During her visit, Ms Coutinho was given a tour by Dudley Council's waste disposal manager Mark Clinton.

He said: "The energy plant takes all the household waste from Dudley borough.

"We process anything up to 100,000 tonnes a year, with less than one per cent going to landfill.

"The energy we generate is powered back into the grid and we produce around 36,000 megawatts every year, which equates to about 11,000 properties in that time."

Ms Coutinho said she was impressed by the waste plant.

She added: “It was great to come and see local MP Marco Longhi in Dudley yesterday where we visited a local waste plant.

"It was so lovely to meet the team, and I was particularly interested to hear about their successful trialling of electric bin lorries which are helping to reduce emissions.”

Mr Longhi said: "This method can potentially help the council reduce their demand on fuel and gas, that is the sensible and the right way of cutting costs and producing clean energy."

Dudley Council's cabinet member for climate change Councillor Rob Clinton also joined the tour.

He said: "This is an exciting and innovative project which shows our ambition to lead the way when it comes to tackling climate change.

"This is a focussed area where several initiatives are being explored with a view to rolling out at scale in the future if they are successful."

Urbaser Environmental Ltd is contracted by Dudley Council to manage the day-to-day running of its Lister Road facility.