A BRADFORD-based water services company has clinched a major waste treatment contract from the Welsh Government.

Kelda Organic Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of the Kelda group which includes Yorkshire Water, has signed an £89 million organic waste treatment deal to help the Welsh Government meet its 2050 “zero waste” target.

Working with Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Councils, Kelda will design, build, finance and operate two state-of-the art recycling sites which will handle up to a million tonnes of collected food and garden waste over the 15 year life of the contract.

The project will create 50 jobs, with a further 15 jobs being created during the lifetime of the contract. It will also support local industry by delivering renewable energy to Welsh Water.

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An anaerobic digestion plant will be built to process 35,000 tonnes of discarded food waste collected by Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Councils each year while a composting plant will process 38,000 tonnes of garden waste collected annually by both councils.

Tom Hall, Kelda’s commercial director, said: "We are delighted to sign this long- term contract with Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan councils. Construction will begin this summer and we hope to have both sites fully operational by early 2017. We look forward to further increasing recycling rates and supporting the Welsh Government in its ‘Zero Waste’ aspirations.”

The anaerobic digestion plant to be built at Welsh Water's Cardiff waste water treatment works, has been developed by Kelda working closely with the utility firm. Thenew plant energy produced by the new plant will be equivalent to powering around 4,000 homes and will enable Welsh Water to reduce energy imported from the grid.

Mike Pedley, Welsh Water’s head of energy, said: “This is the latest development in our ambitious programme to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce our reliance on Grid electricity. Furthermore, the project would also benefit customers by reducing our overall operating costs so that we can keep bills low and as affordable as possible.”

News of the deal coincided with Yorkshire Water's £34 million anaerobic digestion and thermal hydrolysis plant at Esholt sewage works scooping a top award.

The plant, which coverts sewage into power, won the Design through Innovation category at the RICS Pro Yorkshire Awards . The state-of-the-art building, which reduces the environmental impact of sewage disposal, opened in October.

The investment in Esholt was part of a £56m development programme by Yorkshire Water which has enabled its renewable energy generation to grow by nearly 80 per cent.