Southwark gives go-ahead to Veolia MBT plans

Southwark council's planning committee last night (September 8) granted planning permission for the development at the site of an old gas works on the Old Kent Road in South East London, which is a major part of its £665 million, PFI-funded, 25-year residual waste contract with Veolia (see letsrecycle.com story).

Capable of handling 87,000 tonnes of residual waste a year, the mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plant will form part of an integrated waste management facility, which will also be home to a household waste re-use and recycling centre, materials recycling facility and education centre.

Simon Bussell, managing director for Veolia in Southwark said: “This facility sets the standard for waste management in London. It will provide a long term solution to Southwark's waste management needs and enable the borough to reap the environmental and financial benefits of processing waste and recycling as close to source as possible.

“The project will remediate the former gas works site and deliver regeneration and investment into Southwark to say nothing of the jobs that will be created in building and running the facility. This facility will include our first UK MBT plant and we are proud to be working in partnership with Southwark Council to realise the enormous benefits of this development for the borough,” he added.

Plans

Under the proposal, development of the site is set to include:
– Mechanical biological treatment plant (MBT): with a capacity of 87,500 tonnes per annum to handle street cleansing and household residual waste;
– Waste transfer station (WTS): with a capacity of 20,000 tonnes per annum of domestic waste, residual from the household waste re-use and recycling centre and bulky waste;
– A materials recycling facility (MRF): with a capacity of 85,000 tonnes per annum of dry recyclables;
– HWRRC: with an expected throughput 5,500 tonnes per annum of recyclable and non-recyclable bulky household waste deposited by the public (HWRRC);
– Municipal depot;
– Resources centre: contract administration and visitor centre; and
– Weighbridge and office.

The plant is also designed to cater for an additional 45,000 tonnes of commingled dry recyclable material from neighbouring London boroughs. Construction on the facility is set to start this year, with the council hopeful of having the plant up-and-running by 2011.

Approval of the planning permission is subject to 21 conditions – which include Veolia beginning development on the site within three years of permission being granted and a raft of directions about controlling noise levels created during the construction and operation of the site.

Councillor Paul Kyriacou, executive member for environment at Southwark council said: “We're delighted that this new waste plant has been approved. This is a really exciting project for the council, and one that will really see us build on our already impressive recycling improvements in recent years.

The councillor said that Southwark's rate of recycling has increased six fold, from 3.5% in 2002 to currently over 21% currently, and the addition of the plant means that the council can aim to achieve 30% rate by 2011.

Cllr Kyriacou said: “As Veolia's first MBT plant in the UK, this Old Kent Road facility will place us right at the forefront of recycling and rubbish treatment technology.”