UP to £50 million could be saved for the public purse after five councils in the west of Scotland jointly commissioned a major new waste processing plant.

The proposed scheme, due to be operational by 2019 and potentially costing hundreds of millions of pounds, is the first project to materialise from the blueprint for public-sector reform across the Clyde Valley outlined almost four years ago by the former NHS chief Sir John Arbuthnott.

East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire councils have already invited expressions of interest from companies across Europe for the plant, which will deal with residual waste from recycling and composting.

Glasgow pulled out of the scheme to proceed with its own plans, with the recently approved £154m plant to be run by private firm Viridor on the city's south side.

Although the technology to be used in the new scheme will be left up to the bidder, it is likely to be an energy-from-waste plant, often described by critics as an incinerator.

It is also unknown where the plant will be located, and it will be left to the bidder to find a suitable site.

The successful bidder will take the waste to transfer stations within each council area, where recyclable material will be removed, with the secondary residual waste also dealt with locally "or at a remote site".

One clue as to where it may be placed is the preference for somewhere that has already secured planning permission.

Sir John identified the need for councils to consider investing in major infrastructure to process residual waste and a collective approach to waste management "as a matter of urgency" to help meet landfill targets and avoid financial penalties.

He recommended councils agree a west of Scotland- wide solution to the issue of waste management.

Although Sir John's blueprint floundered as council administrations feared the impact of shared services on their workforces, its supporters have told The Herald the waste plant "is the first and not the only" fruits of several years of discussions.

It is also expected the contract will provide jobs during the construction and operational periods, and the councils will investigate the potential to purchase of any electricity or heat produced during the process.

Gavin Whitefield, chief executive of North Lanarkshire Council, the lead authority on the project, said: "We're anticipating the commencement date for the project is December 2019, prior to the 2020 landfill ban, but the partner councils may consider an earlier service commencement date if value for money can be demonstrated."

The contract is for 25 years and is expected to deliver savings of £2m each year.