The NLWA is thought to favour developing a new large-scale EfW plant at its Edmonton site before the current facility closes at the end of its lifespan in 2025. The Authority has told letsrecycle.com that it is still “working towards an autumn timetable” for the future of its waste management arrangements.
The announcement about future plans for the 550,000 tonnes per year capacity Edmonton site was expected following an NLWA meeting on Monday (September 29). At the meeting, the Authority did agree to award a contract to its wholly-owned company LondonWaste Ltd to run the EfW plant until 2025.
LondonWaste originally signed a 20-year contract in 1994 to operate the Edmonton site – known as the Eco Park – but this contract did not include any option to extend the deal.
One reason for the delay in revealing what the Authority is intending to do in terms of the new plant is thought to be that it is very aware of potential opposition. Under discussion, behind closed doors, is the likely size of the new plant with one option being for 600,000 tonnes or more which might make it the largest plant in the capital.
District heating
Strong signals that the Authority will build another large EfW plant at Edmonton came in July, when it was announced that the existing facility will be the hot water provider for the proposed nearby Lee Valley Heat Network (see letsrecycle.com story).
The proposed district heating scheme will provide heat for a number of sites and a new ‘eco-neighbourhood’ of 5,000 homes, but the existing Edmonton EfW’s is currently set to close in 2025.
NLWA previously sought a different long-term solution for the area’s waste through the procurement of two major waste contracts thought to be worth in the region of £3 billion. However, it controversially ended the procurement process last year with the aim of finding a cheaper solution (see letsrecycle.com story).
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Consultancy firm Eunomia has been enlisted by the NLWA to develop waste forecasting models for North London, which is likely to feed into discussions over future EfW capacity at Edmonton.
Re-election
The NLWA meeting on Monday also saw confirmation of the re-election for another year of Waltham Forest councillor Clyde Loakes as chair of the Authority.
Asked by letsrecycle.com how long he saw himself continuing in his role as NLWA chair, councillor Loakes said: “Who knows? There is a job to do, I like the role – we will see.”
He also spoke about future EfW plans at the Edmonton site beyond 2025: “We are on track with our planning but it is still early days. There are still debates that are to be had.”
When asked how a new EfW development would be funded, he said: “All that depends on capacity going forward, as well as waste behaviours of our residents and the design process.”
Barnet borough councillor Dean Cohen and Haringey councillor George Meehan were also elected as vice-chairs of the Authority for the municipal year 2014/15.
NLWA is the UKs second largest waste disposal authority, handling just under one million tonnes of municipal waste around 3% of the UK total collected in the seven London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.
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