Environment Agency approves capacity increase at Beddington energy-from-waste plant. The Environment Agency has granted Viridor South London a new permit allowing its Beddington energy-recovery facility in south London to handle more waste, lifting capacity by 34,864 tonnes to 382,286 tonnes a year. The decision follows two rounds of public consultation.
The variation consolidates the separate permits for the energy-recovery plant and its neighbouring waste transfer station into a single environmental permit, amends the listed emission points and adds European Waste Catalogue codes covering the temporary storage and transfer of hazardous and clinical waste, which will not be processed on site. The Environment Agency said the decision followed extensive review and two public consultations, with emissions monitored around the clock and the data assessed for any breach of permit conditions.
Planning permission for the Beddington plant was granted by Sutton Borough Council in 2013 and upheld by the Mayor of London the same year, a consent that already covered the higher waste volume. The site has drawn sustained local opposition over air quality since it began operating.
