Beddington ERF

South London Waste Partnership announced on Friday 16 December that Viridor was its preferred bidder to treat the four partnership councils’ residual waste over the next 25 years.

The announcement came after a thorough procurement process and assessment of submitted solutions to ensure the South London Waste Partnership – which includes the London Boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton – met its statutory landfill diversion targets and avoid hefty landfill levies and fines – landfill tax is set to reach £80 per tonne in 2014.

At present over 200,000 tonnes of waste from households in South London go to landfill, that would change with the proposed solution, which importantly would provide flexibility to handle changes in waste arisings throughout the lifetime of the facility.

The proposed solution comprises developing a state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) facility at the existing landfill and recycling site in Beddington, Sutton, which would have a capacity to process up to 275,000 tonnes of waste. The £200 million-proposal would also play an essential role in moving towards a green economy by creating around 40 permanent jobs and many more during construction.

Wider environmental benefits will include the landfill diversion of up to 95 per cent of waste delivered to the facility and the generation of up to 26MW of electricity which will power the facility itself and supply over 22MW to the National Grid.

In addition, the proposed ERF would enable completion and restoration of the landfill site sooner than currently anticipated, creating habitats for wildlife to thrive and an open space for the local community.

In order to develop a planning application for the proposed facility, Viridor will undertake a thorough consultation with stakeholders and the local community. It will provide an opportunity for consultees to provide feedback, ask questions and find out more about the scope of the development and benefits for the local economy and wider resource efficiency.

Details on the consultation are being finalised and the consultation will start in the New Year. In the meantime, people who wish to register an interest in being kept informed throughout the process can email beddington@viridor.co.uk.

Downloads

• Beddington Lane ERF Briefing Pack