Covanta Energy has reached agreement with Freightliner Group Ltd to create a facility that will enable rail transportation of domestic and commercial waste from Cardiff to the proposed £400m Brig y Cwm energy from waste (EfW) plant in Merthyr Tydfil.

The agreement is for a rail-linked transfer station to be sited at Freightliner’s South Wales International Freight Terminal at Wentloog, to the east of the city.

The transfer station will receive municipal and commercial waste that will be sorted to extract recyclable materials. The remaining non-recyclable waste will be compacted under cover into sealed containers and transported by train to Brig y Cwm. The EfW facility will supply electricity to around 180,000 Welsh homes and greatly reduce the need for waste to be sent to environmentally damaging landfill sites. Brig y Cwm will also provide up to 500 jobs during construction and up to 100 full-time jobs in Wales thereafter.

Covanta Energy’s UK Managing Director Malcolm Chilton said, “We are pleased to have reached agreement with Freightliner to construct this waste transfer station as the Wentloog site offers a number of benefits. It will use the same roadway as Lamby Way landfill site, which is due to close this year, so there will be no increase in traffic used to transport waste.

“The station will only accept waste from the Cardiff area, as we are planning a network of transfer stations which could serve other local authority areas. There will be no increase in the amount of waste being transported into Cardiff.

“In addition, Brig y Cwm offers the benefit to local authorities of much lower waste disposal costs, at a time when many landfill sites are nearing closure and landfill taxes are set to soar – potentially adding to council tax bills.”

David Israel, Commercial Director of Freightliner Heavy Haul added, “This agreement will be mutually beneficial as the additional throughput of material for Covanta will utilise spare capacity within the complex at Wentloog. This is the first part of a long standing development which will eventually see Freightliner transporting fuel into the Brig y Cwm site by rail and will also promote further the use of rail freight within Wales.”

Covanta Energy is a world leader in producing energy-from-waste, operating 45 plants worldwide.