Operations begin at Severnside energy recovery centre – marking an end to landfill for West London’s waste

The project, delivered in partnership with Aberdeen Asset Management and the ITOCHU Corporation, is part of the 25-year contract to recover energy from West London’s residual waste.

The plant, which has a consented capacity of 400,000 tonnes a year, will treat residual waste produced by residents in the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames, and will export around 34 megawatts, or enough electricity to power the equivalent of 50,000 homes.

Together with measures to support recycling in the individual boroughs, the facility will enable the West London Waste Authority to divert 96 per cent of residents’ waste from landfill.

Since the partnership began formally in November 2013, around £244 million has been invested in new infrastructure including the new energy-from-waste facility at Severnside, a new mainline rail connection and sidings, electrical grid connection and incinerator bottom ash processing facility. The project also included the modernisation and refurbishment of two existing rail-linked waste transfer stations in west London, with new food, green and bulky waste handling facilities.

Residual waste will be transported to the Severnside energy recovery centre by rail from the two transfer stations, located at Transport Avenue in Brentford and Victoria Road in Ruislip.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Chair of West London Waste Authority, said:

“In just three years following our award winning procurement SUEZ has quickly and efficiently delivered the Severnside energy recovery centre. Our partnership will deliver our ambitions of diverting almost all of our waste from landfill, continue to encourage increased recycling at local borough level, and achieve savings for West London whilst creating a new, valuable energy source. We and the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames will continue pushing on towards our ambitious target of 50% recycling by 2020 knowing that 96% of residual waste is being used to create renewable energy.”

David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK, said:

“We’re delighted to round off 2016 on a high note by beginning operations at SERC on schedule, exactly three years after we broke ground at Severnside. The Severnside energy recovery centre allows us to make best use of West London residents’ residual waste by turning it into sustainable energy and we very much look forward to serving West London’s residents for years to come.”