The victim, who has been identified as a man in his 30s, was found by a worker at the West London Waste Authority’s depot on Transport Avenue at around 12.40pm.
Police are treating the death as unexplained and sealed off the site last night as forensic teams began their investigation.
Enquiries are ongoing today with a special post-mortem examination to take place at Fulham Mortuary this afternoon. Police are in the process of notifying the next of kin.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: “Police were called at around 12:40hrs on Thursday, 19 February to reports of a suspected body in a refuse container at a waste depot in Brentford.
“Officers attended the scene and discovered the body of a man in his 30s. We believe we know the identity of the deceased but await formal identification. His death is being treated as an unexplained death and enquiries are ongoing.”
Transfer station
The waste transfer station is one of two rail-linked facilities operated by SITA UK on behalf of the West London Waste Authority, under a 25-year contract signed in 2013 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The Brentford facility receives waste from the five boroughs within the authority; Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Hillingdon and Richmond upon Thames. The area covers a population of 1.4 million people.
Commenting on the incident today, a spokesperson for SITA UK said: “Sadly, we can confirm that a body was found yesterday at the Transport Avenue waste transfer station in Brentford, which is operated by SITA UK on behalf of the West London Waste Authority.
“All staff and visitors on site were accounted for and the police were in attendance on site from 12.40pm.
“At this early stage of investigations, we understand that the police are treating the death as unexplained.”
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