Planning boost for Viridors Sutton EfW

Council planning officers agreed to the plans for the proposed facility, which is expected to cost around 200 million, at a meeting on Wednesday (May 15) evening.

The Beddington Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) forms part of Viridors 990 million contract with the South London Waste Partnership, to treat around 200,000 per year over a 25-year period. The contract was awarded in November 2012 subject to Viridor gaining planning permission for the Beddington Lane facility (see letsrecycle.com story).

Viridor was also awarded an environmental permit to operate the plant earlier in the week.

Commenting on the decision, Sutton councils deputy leader, councillor Colin Hall, said: I’m very proud of Sutton’s reputation as a green borough so I’m especially pleased we have found an affordable and environmentally sustainable way of treating domestic waste. This decision, along with our long term investment in recycling, means we can stop burying rubbish in the ground, dramatically reduce our CO2 emissions and bring forward work on the Wandle Valley Regional Park.

All of the credible scientific evidence shows that modern Energy Recovery Facilities are safe and our technical advisers have been forensically examining Viridor’s proposal for months. This ERF means we can reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, manage our waste locally and unlock millions of pounds of investment for the area.

Benefits

Viridor has welcomed the councils decision to approve the plans.

Robert Ryan, the companys head of development projects, said: It is great news that the committee recognised by granting us planning permission that our proposed ERF is the right solution for South Londons waste challenge and is one that will deliver real economic, social and environmental benefits. It is a safe and cost-effective long-term alternative to landfill, recovering resources and reducing costs to the tax payer.

The local community should be further reassured about the safety of our proposed ERF by the Environment Agencys announcement earlier this week that it is minded to grant us and Environmental Permit to operate the facility. We look forward to progressing with the project and to delivering this facility and associated environmental, economic and social benefits.

Rachel Lewis, chair of the South London Waste Partnership Management Group, said: We have spent four years driving towards the best technical and commercial deal that the waste industry has to offer. Weve seen first-hand that combining greater recycling with energy recovery is the only viable commercial option if you want to protect the environment and save the taxpayer money.

Were very glad science and evidence won the argument and Viridor can now build a state-of-the-art facility. This technology has taken huge leaps forward recently and really come of age most of Europe is pursuing energy recovery. This is a safe, environmentally sustainable, proven technology. We can rest assured this is the right choice for our boroughs.

At present, the 200,000 tonnes of residual waste generated by the four councils that make up the South London Waste Partnership – Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton – are sent to landfill.