A joint proposal by North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council for a multi-million pound strategy to tackle the problems of waste disposal has won the backing of the government.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has approved the awarding of £65m worth of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding to help pay for the proposal. 

The government requirement to reduce the amount of household waste disposed of in landfill sites and the severe financial penalties for not doing so mean that identifying different methods of disposal are essential if the two councils are to fulfil their legal obligations. 

The cost of doing so will be significant and the £65m is a valuable contribution to help offset costs to residents.  The two councils believe that doing nothing is not an option.

A procurement process will now take place to allow companies to bid for a contract to divert waste from landfill.  It is hoped that by 2012/13, alternatives to landfilling waste will be in operation.  It has been agreed that any waste treatment facilities will be located within North Yorkshire and not the City of York, and the type of technology used will depend on an evaluation of the bids received.