This comes more than two weeks after Sutton’s deputy leader, Cllr Abbelan, who has since stood down, also said he was against the proposals.
Viridor’s plans to expand the annual capacity of the EfW plant by 10% to 382,000 tonnes came to light last month, when the South London Waste Partnership (SLWP) issued a statement opposing the plans (see letsrecycle.com story).
A joint statement said the boroughs are disappointed that Viridor is making this application just 12 months after the Environment Agency agreed to increase the maximum capacity of the facility by 15%.
The SLWP, which manages waste on behalf of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton, said it was concerned about the impact any increase in capacity at the Beddington facility would have on local traffic congestion and vehicle emissions.
This unnecessary intensification of the facility would see a rise in local traffic congestion
- Councillor Natasha Irons, Merton
Opposition
Now, some councillors have opted to go further and have called on the Environment agency to hold a full public consultation on the proposals.
Councillor Natasha Irons, Merton council’s cabinet member for local environment and green spaces, said: “We oppose Viridor’s application to the Environment Agency to vary the Beddington Energy Recovery Facility’s environmental permit.
“If the application is approved, the amount of waste that can be treated at the facility would increase by 10% – this is in addition to the 15% increase to capacity approved by the Environment Agency just 12 months ago. This unnecessary intensification of the facility would see a rise in local traffic congestion and have a negative impact on residents.
“This increase represents a substantial variation to capacity at the facility and we are calling on the Environment Agency to hold a full public consultation so that the residents and stakeholders can review the supporting technical information submitted by Viridor. The Environment Agency must give residents’ the opportunity for their voices to be heard before it makes a decision on whether or not to approve this application”.
This variation will enable waste to move higher up the waste hierarchy
- Viridor
Data
Viridor says it has been collecting data over the past 12 months to support its application.
A spokesperson from Viridor said the company had undertaken “extensive reviews of the performance” of the plant, which concluded it will be able to process more waste.
The expansion will also enable it to process waste from the South East, where “large quantities are still being exported or landfilled”.
By allowing the expansion of the facility, Viridor argues that this waste would be moved further up the waste hierarchy.
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