Law firm advises Viridor on 25-year waste contract with four Welsh councils

Law firm Bevan Brittan advised recycling, renewable energy and waste management company Viridor on a 25-year contract with a group of four Welsh local authorities.

The Tomorrow’s Valley partnership is led by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and includes Merthyr Tydfil, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen Councils.

The contract begins in April this year and has been backed with funding from the Welsh Government. It is expected to last 25 years, with a possible further extension of five years.

The project will result in the treatment of 95,000 tonnes of residual waste per year which will be processed at Viridor’s £223m Trident Park Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Cardiff.

The ERF will be capable of generating 30MW of renewable power, enough to provide 50,000 households with their entire electricity needs. The ERF also has the potential to deliver a district heating network.

Nathan Bradberry, a senior associate in Bevan Brittan's Resources and Energy team and legal adviser on the project, said: "Having advised Viridor on the Engineer Procure Construct contract for the Trident Park ERF, we are delighted to have advised Viridor on this project. It will result in significant amounts of residual waste (following the removal of materials for recycling) being diverted from landfill and used for the generation of low carbon energy and recycled aggregates." 

Bevan Brittan partner Nadeem Arshad said: "The innovative contract signed with the Tomorrow's Valley partnership means that Viridor is now managing in the region of 270,000 tonnes of residual waste from nine Welsh local authorities at the Trident Park ERF. Bevan Brittan is very pleased to have helped the Viridor team on another Welsh waste deal."