WORCESTERSHIRE'S £165 million incinerator is up and running - with the rubbish-burning facility's handover taking place.
The huge energy-from-waste plant at Hartlebury is now in full operation after almost three years' painstaking construction work.
Worcestershire County Council says the project has been complete "on time" and to the specification, ready to raze 200,000 tonnes of waste per year.
The plant, on the village trading estate, will collect household rubbish from Worcestershire and Herefordshire to export energy into the National Grid.
Bosses at County Hall today said the site will power energy into 55,000 homes - equivalent to the population of Kidderminster.
The controversial plant, known as 'EnviRecover', is aimed at reducing crippling landfill costs.
Councillor Anthony Blagg, the council's cabinet member for the environment, said: "It's great news that the construction of EnviRecover has now been completed, thanks to our close working with Herefordshire Council and Mercia Waste Management.
"The facility will significantly benefit residents in both counties and make a major contribution to regional renewable energy generation."
Javier Peiro, from Mercia Waste Management, which will operate the plant on behalf of taxpayers, said: “Delivering this type of infrastructure on time, on budget and on spec is a rarity and we are rightly pleased with this outcome."
Council chiefs today said the site is now operational, having undergone "a phase of reliability and performance-testing" since last autumn.
It features an exhaust stack 75 metres above ground level, changing the landscape dramatically.
After years of indecision and fierce lobbying from anti-incineration campaigners the council finally agreed to press ahead with the plant in 2014.
The cost of dealing with waste in Worcestershire between now and 2042 will be £1.6 billion with the plant in place, but the council has always maintained that without it the bill would top £2.1 billion.
That is largely because Worcestershire's landfill is forecast to be full by 2024, leading to the long drawn-out hunt for an alternative.
Of the £165 million loan for getting it off the ground, £125 million is being paid off by Worcestershire's taxpayers and the rest from Herefordshire householders.
An official opening will take place this summer at the big complex.
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