THE Welsh Government has agreed to fund a project that will save three of Gwent’s councils hundreds of millions of pounds over the next 25 years.

It will pump £4.2 million a year into Prosiect Gwyrdd- an incinerator at Trident Park, Cardiff, that will turn non-recyclable waste into enough energy to power 50,000 homes a year, rather than sending it to landfill.

The funding means Newport, Monmouthshire and Caerphilly councils, who will share the facility with Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, can now avoid massive fines for sending waste to landfill.

The Welsh Government has set the highest recycling targets in the UK and is working towards recycling 52 per cent of Wales’ waste this year, increasing to 70 per cent recycling and zero waste to landfill by 2025.

With any council not hitting the targets set to be fined, the Welsh Government estimates the project will save the five partners £500 million over the next 25 years.

Trident Park is currently under construction and the Welsh Government’s £4.2 million a year over 25 years, will help fund the 360 construction and 36 full-time jobs there.

The minister for natural resources, Alun Davies said:"At a time when councils across Wales are facing an unprecedentedly difficult financial climate and working to improve services with reduced resources, this facility will help councils in south east Wales save money, which can instead be spent on our schools, libraries and roads.

"Sending waste to landfill is literally throwing our money away."

The Prosiect Gwyrdd procurement went out to tender and following a detailed and competitive process, the partnership of five local authorities appointed Viridor as their preferred bidder in March 2013.

Mr Davies added: "We are working hard to ensure that we prevent, minimise, reuse or recycle as much of our waste as possible. However, for the waste left over, it is far better to use it to create energy that can power our homes and businesses than to bury it in the ground.

"Sending our waste to landfill and leaving it to rot is no longer an option – it uses up our land and damages our environment. As well as creating jobs in the waste and resource management industry and saving our councils money, Prosiect Gwyrdd will cut Wales’s carbon emissions and help reduce climate change."