Community and environment

Viridor takes its responsibility to protect the environment very seriously. We also recognise we have a duty of care towards those people who live or work near to our facilities. 

We will consider all the key environmental aspects of our proposed development in detail and take all necessary steps to maximise environmental and social benefits whilst minimising potential impacts

The recovery of recyclable materials by the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) will reduce demand for virgin raw materials, thus increasing the environmental performance of the facility.

Waste and Resources Assessment Tool for the Environment (WRATE) modeling has shown that most residual treatment technologies result in an environmental benefit when compared to the continued landfill of waste.

The Energy from Waste (EfW) facility at Severn Road will produce carbon emissions but these are less harmful greenhouse gases than methane, which would be produced if the waste was landfilled.

EfW, preferably with Combined Heat and Power (CHP), yields an environmental impact that is better than other competing technologies.

The CHP design will present opportunities for additional commercial development. The heat produced by the facility can be converted to ‘cold' energy for refrigerated cold stores and will supply 30MW of electricity to the National Grid.

On this basis it is concluded that the proposed Severn Road Resource Recovery Centre will result in an overall reduction in environmental impacts such as global CO2 emissions.

In addition to improving recycling and waste management across Avonmouth and maximising the efficiency and effectiveness of this service for all users, the proposal has a number of other benefits to the community including:

• Employment for approximately 70 new permanent staff when it is operational, as well as over 200 jobs throughout the three year construction period
• The local economy will benefit from increased employment opportunities sustained by wages and salaries received and spent in the local economy by people directly employed at the facility and through the use of local services
• The proposal will help achieve local targets on landfill diversion, to be met or even exceeded, and therefore avoid costly fines
• EfW also offsets the significant economic impact of landfill tax, which would otherwise be passed onto council tax payers.

Viridor considers all constructive feedback received during ongoing public consultation on its proposals, and will incorporate comment and suggestion where appropriate.

We also operate a ‘Good Neighbour Policy’, which includes regular community contact via site liaison group meetings. For further information or to get involved with  a liaison group get in touch via the Contact Us page or call 01823 721 400.