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Cambridgeshire Council Scrambles to Manage £36M Waste Contract as Facility Fails Standards
14 Nov
Summary
- Cambridgeshire County Council has 11 years left on a £36M-per-year waste contract
- Facility owned by Thalia Waste Management no longer meets environmental permit conditions
- Council must now find a "sustainable and flexible solution" to manage county's waste
As of November 14th, 2025, Cambridgeshire County Council is facing a significant challenge with its £36 million-per-year waste management contract. The council has 11 years remaining on a 28-year private finance initiative (PFI) deal signed in 2008, which is linked to a facility operated by Thalia Waste Management near Waterbeach.
The Waterbeach facility was originally built to process non-recyclable "black-bag" waste, but it no longer meets the environmental permit conditions imposed by the Environment Agency in August 2022. This has forced the council to stop waste operations at the mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility, leaving them to find a new solution to manage the county's waste.
The council has acknowledged that the cost of adapting the Waterbeach facility to meet the new environmental standards would be significant and not guaranteed to succeed. Furthermore, they anticipate that additional legislative changes could make the current technologies even less viable before the contract ends.
As a result, the council is now undertaking a comprehensive review of all elements of the waste management contract and is working to develop a clear long-term strategy to handle the county's waste in a sustainable and flexible manner, capable of adapting to future regulatory changes.
