Yorwaste and Waddington Recycling Ltd have been named as preferred bidder to process Bradford‘‘s household waste. The news will result in a £20m investment in a state of the art recycling facility in the city.

The Yorwaste and Waddington Recycling bid is based on the development of a revolutionary new waste-treatment plant which will separate, sterilise and ultimately recycle the city‘‘s domestic waste which is currently going to landfill. This will enable Bradford Metropolitan District Council to become one of the best performing authorities in the UK in response to the government‘‘s landfill diversion and recycling targets.

Autoclave technology uses the ‘‘pressure cooker‘‘ principle to subject the waste to heat. The heat treatment causes the waste to separate into constituent parts which are then recycled, leaving only a small proportion needing landfill disposal.

Mark Waddington, Chairman of Waddington Recycling, said: "City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and Yorwaste should be commended for taking an innovative and forward-thinking approach to waste management, and committing to this new autoclave treatment plant. This is a great step forward for the waste treatment industry, as we can now demonstrate that there is a feasible and sensible alternative to the traditional waste management methods of landfill and incineration.

"This innovative technology has only previously been applied to domestic waste overseas and this is the first plant of its kind and scale in the UK. It will be capable of treating large quantities of domestic waste, making a real contribution to solving what is currently a high-profile problem across the country in an affordable and efficient way. It is important that householders understand the environmental benefits of this emission-free process. The amount of waste which can be recycled will be significantly boosted, while the waste sent to landfill will be reduced. "

Tony Sharkey, Head of Future Technology and Developments at Yorwaste, said: "Yorwaste is delighted with Bradford Council‘‘s decision to embrace this innovative technology solution for managing their waste. The process is environmentally sound as it diverts waste from landfill and will help to promote Bradford to be one of the highest recycling local authorities in the country.

"Using the autoclave recycling process will be cheaper than sending waste to landfill because of the recent government increases in landfill tax. "

The joint venture between Waddington Recycling Ltd, which is owned by the Waddington family, and Yorwaste is investing in excess of £20 million in a new plant. It will be located adjacent to Waddington‘‘s existing Buck Street facility. 50 new jobs are expected to be created by the company when the plant becomes operational from April 2009.