Sutton’s environment lead Member has announced he will strongly oppose any plans by waste management company Viridor, who are seeking permission to increase the tonnage of waste that can be processed at the Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) in Beddington.

Cllr Abellan, Deputy Leader of the Council, said:

“I am very disappointed about this application. Sutton has long been a borough which prides itself on recycling and on reducing waste to landfill. Our recycling rates are some of the highest in London and the ERF avoids the need of sending waste to landfill. However this is too much and will increase the amount of traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in the area.

“On behalf of Sutton residents I will strongly oppose this application from Viridor. I will be contacting the Environment Agency who have the final say in the matter, to urge them to carry out a full public consultation before making any decisions about the application.

“The proposed additional commercial and industrial waste that will be processed at the plant, will not come from Sutton or from our partners in the South London Waste Partnership (Croydon, Kingston and Merton) but from other parts of the country. The increase in vehicle movements and emissions in the Beddington area that will result from the increase in tonnage, is not in the best interest of Sutton residents.

“Our borough already makes a significant contribution to the management of waste from the South London area, and we certainly do our bit for the environment, but we will oppose plans to process a greater amount of additional waste from other areas.”