Suez has developed the much-delayed Eco Park on Charlton Lane to manage waste from Surrey households as part of its 25-year contract with the local authority.
Prior to the construction of the Eco Park there were no energy from waste facilities within Surrey, so waste was transported outside the county and in some cases outside the UK for treatment.
Building work on the Eco Park, a collection of facilities including the 40,000 tonnes per year capacity AD facility and 56,000 tonnes per year capacity gasification plant, began in 2015. Commissioning was due to begin in 2017.
Suez says the Eco Park has processed 35,425 tonnes of residual waste and 21,065 tonnes of food waste between 1 January and 31 November this year, generating 21 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity.
During the same period, the AD facility has produced 3,741 tonnes of digestate, Suez says, to be used as a soil improver in agriculture.
A spokesperson for Suez told letsrecycle.com: “With the challenges facing the energy sector this year, we are proud to be contributing to the national grid and supporting energy security in the UK.
“Both the anaerobic digestion and gasification facilities have been performing well operationally and in terms of health and safety and environmental compliance.”
Disposal authority Surrey county council says developing treatment facilities at the Eco Park gives it “long-term control” over the treatment of a third of the county’s waste and the associated costs.
AD
Suez says it anticipates that the AD facility will receive final notification of PAS110 accreditation, part of the Renewable Energy Association’s biofertiliser certification scheme, by the end of the year.
Developed by climate action NGO WRAP, PAS110 accreditation provides a baseline quality specification for digestate and includes requirements about how food waste and other materials can be processed.
Suez says the AD facility is supported by a ‘feed-in tariff’, a government scheme designed to support the development of renewable energy sources by providing a guaranteed, above-market price for producers.
Surrey
Representing an estimated population of nearly 1.2 million, Surrey county council had a 55.1% household waste recycling rate in the 2020/21 financial year.
Suez currently holds a 25-year integrated PFI waste disposal contract with the council, due to expire in September 2024 and worth £64 million each year. In total, Suez manages approximately 500,000 tonnes of waste each year on behalf of the council.
Suez appointed M+W Group to design and build the Eco Park. The lead contractor worked with specialist sub-contractors Outotec, suppliers of the gasification technology, and Monsal, suppliers of the AD technology.
Alongside the AD plant and gasifier, the Eco Park comprises a bulking facility for recyclables and a community recycling centre.
Surrey and Suez have been in a legal dispute over delays to gasification element of the Eco Park (see letsrecycle.com story).
Earlier this year, Surrey county council said it would take a “disaggregated” approach to procuring a new waste disposal contract by splitting it into several lots (see letsrecycle.com story). The county’s approach is seen as potentially heralding the end of the era when local authorities issued long-term contracts of up to 25 years.
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