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You are here: CIWM  >  Publications  >  Latest News  >  Viridor Named As Preferred Bidder For South London Energy Recovery Facility

Viridor Named As Preferred Bidder For South London Energy Recovery Facility

20 December 2011

Viridor has been chosen as the preferred bidder by the South London Waste Partnership for its 25-year residual waste treatment contract

Once signed, the contract will ensure that from April 2014, up to 215,000 tonnes of residual waste that is generated every year by households in Croydon, Kingston, Merton and Sutton will no longer be buried in expensive and environmentally unsustainable landfill sites.

Instead, if planning permission is achieved, the waste will be treated in a state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Facility, which will use tried and tested methods to extract valuable electricity and, if viable, heat from it.

To achieve all of this, Viridor is proposing to build an Energy Recovery Facility on a plot of land just off Beddington Lane in the London Borough of Sutton.

Viridor's proposal will be subject to a very detailed and public planning application process, which will include a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment considering issues around land use, design, traffic, air quality and sustainability.

The new residual waste treatment contract will be cheaper than landfill from day one. Over the 25-year lifetime of the contract it will save the four partner boroughs around £200m by ensuring that strict Government-controlled limits on landfill waste are met, avoiding severe financial penalties in the process.

Councillor Phil Thomas, Chair of the South London Waste Partnership Joint Waste Committee, said: "Awarding Preferred Bidder status was a huge decision, but the Joint Waste Committee is confident that the right decision has been made: Viridor had the strongest bid when assessed against the evaluation criteria. It is now for the planning process to forensically study whether the proposal is appropriate for the Beddington area.

"The Energy Recovery Facility proposed by Viridor is an intelligent solution to a huge environmental and financial challenge."

Councillor Thomas continues: "I know that residents who live in the vicinity of the Beddington Lane site will have lots of questions around issues like traffic and emissions. We are committed to systematically working through these and a lot of effort will go into making sure everyone has the chance to have their say on these issues."

As preferred bidder, Viridor will now enter into the final stage of the procurement process, financial close, where detailed information relating to the contract will be finalised and agreed with the Partnership. The contract should be awarded by August 2012. WRG is the partnership's reserved bidder.

Darrel Moore