This comes after Seneca suspended the plant’s operations in the summer following a “downturn in the RDF market generated by Brexit and by Covid-19”.
The site on Hannah Close, Neasden, mainly produced RDF from a range of materials which was then exported to Europe. The entrance to the facility can be seen below.
RDF market
In an application to the Environment Agency to alter its permit in August, Seneca explained about challenges in the RDF market and how less material was going to Europe.
Seneca had asked the EA to alter its permit to allow more disposal options. The position, along with an application to vary the permit, was sought in the summer months to enable Seneca to remove constraints in the existing permit. The variation was sought to increase the commercial versatility of the operation to mitigate the volatility in the RDF market and to prepare for a possible no deal Brexit.
The Environment Agency said in response that it would temporarily allow this until April 2021 under a strict set of conditions, including submitting another application to alter the permit, which was released for consultation on 10 December.
Agreement
However, Seneca and the NLWA have now struck an agreement for use of the facility.
The NLWA says it will now use the site for its newly located waste transfer station and recycling plant.
Seneca is initially sub-contracting the facility operations to NLWA, however in the long term the operation of the Wembley facility will be fully transferred to NLWA.
The site is expected to become operational in January 2021. NLWA has signed a seven-year lease with Seneca.
The NLWA says operating the facility from the Wembley site will give it “significant new operational flexibility”, and will reduce the number of vehicles which will need to go to the authority’s Edmonton EfW.
Signed on the 27 November, the lease will see NLWA’s main waste contractor, LondonEnergy Ltd operating the facility, which will include a new materials recycling picking line.
‘New ground’
Councillor Clyde Loakes, chair of NLWA, heralded the deal as “breaking new ground” within the waste industry.
“This mutually beneficial arrangement is the result of focused and constructive negotiations on all sides – and it is a hugely exciting development for NLWA,” he said.
Cllr Loakes added: “By agreeing a lease with Seneca we have secured a suitable space for an essential new waste transfer station, and a recycling facility that will further improve our environmental performance. In bringing those plans together with work to free up space at the EcoPark we’ve ensured that construction on the NLHPP progresses smoothly, and that NLWA can continue to offer sustainable solutions to managing north London’s waste.”
Bulking
The site was previously used to process residual waste from the West London Waste Authority, before the authority began sending its waste to the Severnside Energy Recovery Centre operated by Suez near Bristol.
The NLWA confirmed it will undertake some treatment and bulking up at the site but will not undertake any export activities.
Spare capacity at the facility could in due course be utilised through contracts with other local authorities, the NLWA said.
John Carey Jr, deputy chairman of the Carey Group, which owns Seneca, said: “Seneca is delighted to support NLWA during this important phase in the development of their waste treatment infrastructure. Our Wembley facility is an excellent fit. It provides an interim solution for the Hendon Waste Transfer Station whilst the additional waste processing capacity supports the operations at Edmonton EcoPark during the construction of the NLHPP.”
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