Located within a former quarry near Silver End, Witham, the Rivenhall Integrated Waste Management Facility (IWMF) will aim to treat up to 595,000 tonnes of household and commercial waste annually.
The start-up follows four and a half years of construction programme, which began in 2021 and involved up to 850 people on site. Construction was completed in April this year by Kanadevia Inova.
The total investment of the project stands at £589 million, making it Indaver’s largest EfW development.
John Tatton, General Manager of Rivenhall IWMF, said: “The opening of the waste to energy element of Rivenhall IWMF culminates the first part of exciting times ahead for Indaver.
“Myself and my team are really proud to be part of Indaver’s success and are looking forward to the challenge of operating this fantastic facility.”
Rivenhall EfW part of Indaver’s larger plans
Seamus Flynn, Director of Municipal Solid Waste Services for Ireland and the UK at Indaver, said the commissioning of the EfW plant was “only the start of the story”.
He said: “We’ve now built a plant where we treat waste and produce energy.
“We want to look at how we best use the electricity, the heat, the carbon and the ash from the facility.”
Plans are already progressing for a major greenhouse development adjacent to the site, which would utilise heat, electricity and CO2 generated by the plant to produce food locally.
The wider Rivenhall site is also being positioned as an educational and community resource, with school and local group visits already taking place and further visitor facilities under development to improve understanding of resource management and energy recovery.
Indaver Rivenhall secured the contract for Essex County Council’s medium-term residual waste treatment, which began in April 2025. The agreement runs for seven years, with an option to extend for a further seven years.
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