Without prejudice to the powers of disposal authorities apart from this section, any disposal authority may—
(a)do such things as the authority considers appropriate for the purpose of—
(i)enabling waste belonging to the authority, or belonging to another person who requests the authority to deal with it in pursuance of this section, to be used again, or
(ii)enabling substances to be reclaimed from such waste;
(b)buy or otherwise acquire waste with a view to its being used again or to the reclamation of substances from it; and
(c)use, sell or otherwise dispose of waste belonging to the authority or anything produced from such waste.
(1)A disposal authority may, subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section.—
(a)use waste belonging to the authority for the purpose of producing from it heat or electricity or both;
(b)establish and operate, within or outside its area, such generating stations and other installations as the authority thinks fit for the purpose aforesaid; and
(c)where the authority operates an installation in which waste is usually used as the main fuel for the purpose of producing heat or electricity, then—
(i)in the case of an installation for producing heat, use other fuel in addition to waste to produce the heat, and
(ii)in the case of an installation for producing electricity, use other fuel to assist in burning the waste to produce the electricity,
and, in an emergency, use other fuel instead of waste to produce the heat or electricity ;
and a disposal authority may use, sell or otherwise dispose of any heat produced by the authority by virtue of this section.
(2)A disposal authority shall not be entitled to make any arrangements with a view to the production from waste of electricity for use otherwise than by the authority unless—
(a)the authority has had consultations about the arrangements with the Central Electricity Generating Board and with any Electricity Board proposed to be specified in the arrangements in pursuance of paragraph (b) of the following subsection; and
(b)the arrangements are approved by the Secretary of State and are in accordance with any conditions which he attaches to his approval.
In the application of this subsection to Scotland the reference to the Central Electricity Generating Board shall be omitted.
(3)Where a disposal authority produces electricity by virtue of this section the authority—
(a)may use any of the electricity at the installation at which it was produced and on any premises occupied by the authority in connection with the installation, but shall not use any of it elsewhere;
(b)may sell any of the electricity, on such terms as are specified in the relevant arrangements made in pursuance of the preceding subsection, to any Electricity Board (within the meaning of the [1947 c. 54.] Electricity Act 1947) which is so specified, but shall not sell or otherwise dispose of any of it to any other person;
and it shall be the duty of any Electricity Board so specified to buy electricity from the authority in accordance with the said arrangements.
(4)Subsection (6) of section 12 of this Act (except paragraph (b) of that subsection) and subsection (7) of that section (except so much of it as relates to the [1962 c. 58.] Pipe-lines Act 1962) shall have effect in relation to a disposal authority as if the reference in the said subsection (6) to the collection of waste in pursuance of that section included the conveying of heat produced by the authority by virtue of this section and of air, steam and water heated by such heat.
(5)It shall be the duty of a disposal authority by which an installation for producing heat is operated in pursuance of this section in any year to furnish to the Secretary of State, as soon as practicable after the end of that year, such particulars relating to the installation and heat produced at it as are prescribed.
(6)Nothing in this section (except the restrictions imposed by subsections (2) and (3)) shall be construed as prejudicing any power exercisable by a disposal authority apart from this section.