The Local Government Association hascalculated that households in the UK send more than 26.8million tonnes of rubbish to landfill every year - the equivalent of almost half a tonne for every person in the country.
The total amount of the award has yet to be calculated, but thegovernment will pay up to half the project cost and will work with the companies to get the new reactors licensed and operating within 10 years, the Energy Department said.