The agreement finalised on Monday strengthened Veolia's current position in London – where it already holds over five waste collection and disposal contracts.
Under the deal, Veolia will be taking over waste collection and disposal in Southwark from this week, as part of a wider strategy covering waste minimisation, transfer, composting and pre-treatment which aims to boost Southwark's recycling rate to 50% by 2021.
At its heart, Veolia will be constructing a state-of-the art waste and recycling centre on the Old Kent Road which will contain the company's first UK MBT plant which will be capable of handling 87,000 tonnes of residual waste a year. This will remove recyclables from the waste before stabilising it to produce a fuel, which will be sent to the South East London Combined Heat and Power Plant.
The site will also include a materials recycling facility capable of handling 85,000 tonnes of dry recyclables a year and a household waste and recycling recovery centre.
Denis Gasquet, CEO Veolia Environmental Services, welcomed the contract signing just five months after Veolia signed a PFI deal in Shropshire (see letsrecycle.com story).
He said: “This announcement underlines our capacity to win major PFI contracts in the UK where new regulations focus on recycling and the reduction of landfilling.”
“We are excited at the prospect of delivering a sustainable and importantly an integrated model for urban waste management with new facilities and new technology in the form of Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) and an innovative approach to waste minimisation and education. The decision also strengthens our position in central London where we already operate major contracts including Brent, Camden, Lambeth, Tower Hamlets and Westminster,” he added.
Southwark
Southwark council echoed Veolia's optimism about the PFI deal and said it would deliver one of the” most ambitious” local authority waste schemes in the UK.
Cllr Paul Noblet, Southwark Council's executive member for environment, said: “We have signed this agreement with Veolia because they share our vision of a sustainable, integrated service. Working with Veolia, we will be able to deliver on our ambitious targets and provide a cost-effective service to our residents that is in the best interests of the environment.”
Cllr Noblet explained that in the last five years, Southwark had quadrupled its rate of recycling – reaching a 18.4% recycling rate in 2006/07 – but that it wanted to plan ahead to improve this record further.
He said: “This partnership will meet the needs of the people of Southwark for the foreseeable future and we're looking forward to working in partnership with Veolia.”
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