The 35,000 tonnes of residual household waste produced in the borough each year will be compacted at the Thurrock transfer station and will then be sent either to the Allington (Kent) energy from waste (EfW) facility or to a landfill.

At the start, the balance between treatment and landfill will be equal, but by the end of the contract period the balance will see 90 per cent of the residual waste being diverted from landfill and used to recover energy.

WRG, which is the largest waste management company in the UK, recovers energy through clean combustion of nonhazardous household, commercial and industrial waste at a number of incinerators. The Allington (Kent) plant produces electricity for sale to the grid, while the Eastcroft plant produces steam which is used to heat thousands of homes, offices, shops and public buildings in Nottingham.