Energy recovery facility proposed for Kingston residents' waste

A high-tech energy recovery facility will be built on the Beddington Lane landfill site in the London Borough of Sutton if planning permission is granted.

The South London Waste Partnership has chosen waste management company Viridor as the 'preferred bidder' for its review of its 25-year residual waste treatment contract.

Currently, up to 215,000 tonnes of residual waste from households in Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton is buried at the Beddington Lane landfill site. If the Viridor contract is signed, the waste will instead be treated in an energy recovery facility, which will generate electricity and, potentially, heat.

The Beddington Lane site receives up to 400,000 tonnes of waste every year and is expected to be full within 10 years. Plans are in place to restore the land as part of a regional park once the site is full, but if Viridor gets the go-ahead, this plan could be accelerated.

Viridor says that the plant will also generate local investment, job creation and possible improvements to other local amenities.

The proposal will be subject to a very detailed public planning process, which will include a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment considering issues concerning land use, design, traffic, air quality and sustainability.

Residents in all four council areas will be able to contribute to the planning process,

 Councillor Phil Thomas, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Waste Committee, said: "The energy recovery facility proposed by Viridor is an intelligent solution to a huge environmental and financial challenge. Of course it is important that we all continue to minimise the amount of waste we produce and then recycle and compost as much as we can.

"But a modern energy recovery facility has an important role to play in ensuring that we can prevent even non-recyclable waste from ending up in landfill sites, costing both the environment and council tax payers dearly.

"I know that residents who live in the vicinity of the Beddington Lane site will have lots of questions around issues like traffic and emissions. We are committed to systematically working through these and a lot of effort will go into making sure everyone has the chance to have their say on these issues."