Plans submitted for anaerobic digestion facility in London Borough of Merton

SITA UK has submitted a planning application to transform its existing waste management site at Benedict Wharf, Mitcham, South London into a modern eco-park.

The plans to redevelop the site include: 

• The development of an anaerobic digestion facility (AD) and in-vessel composting facility (IVC), which will process up to 100,000 tonnes of waste per year, comprising 80,000 tonnes of food waste and 20,000 tonnes of green waste. 
• An extension to the existing materials recycling facility (MRF), which when extended, will be capable of sorting up to 80,000 tonnes of mixed recyclable material.  
• A waste bulking / transfer facility for the management of up to 40,000 tonnes per year of pre-sorted recyclable material (including plastics, glass, textiles etc). 
• The development of an education and visitor centre with a landscaped roof garden, to increase awareness of sustainable waste management. 

Commenting on the application, Adrian Clarke, General Manager at SITA UK, said:

"This will be an important development for London. We will be treating waste sustainably within the capital where there are a limited number of sites available. 

"If our proposal is approved, we will transform this dated site into a modern eco-park. We have described it as an eco-park because all the waste management activity we are proposing on the site is sustainable and education for members of the public will play a key role in the development."

Since August 2007, London Remade has provided bespoke project support to SITA UK while this proposal was developed. The first 12 months of this support was provided through funding made available by the London Climate Change Agency as part of the ‘London’s Waste as a Renewable Resource’ project. Gianluca Forlani, Senior Project Manager at London Remade, said: "We are delighted to have been able to support SITA UK in the development of a facility that will not only significantly improve waste management in London, but will also generate renewable energy and enhance the local area. We look forward to continuing to assist SITA UK on this project."

Adrian Clarke from SITA UK added: "Work on site will be carried out in two phases. The first phase will include the extension of the MRF and source-separated waste bulking / transfer facility. The AD, IVC and education facility will be developed in phase two. We are also proposing a number of improvements around the boundary of the site to improve the area for local residents. We anticipate that all the improvement work will be complete by 2012."

SITA UK is holding open days on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 December for local stakeholders and members of the public to find out more about the plans.