A South London incinerator has been granted permission to process tens of thousands of extra tonnes of waste each year despite breaching its environmental permit 916 times between 2022 and 2024.
Viridor Ltd can now increase the amount of waste it treats at its Beddington Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility to 382,286 tonnes annually, an increase of almost 35 tonnes.
The move comes despite opposition from residents living in the area around the site who have complained of unpleasant odours coming from the facility and an increase in lorry traffic.
Chair of Sutton Council’s Environment & Sustainable Transport Committee, Christopher Woolmer, said they were ‘deeply disappointed’ by the decision.
“We argued that the site and plant lack the capacity to process the proposed amount of waste,” Woolmer continued.
“We are also concerned about Viridor’s repeated permit breaches, which last year resulted in a downgrading of their compliance rating.”
A Compliance Assessment Report (CAR) from the Environment Agency found that Viridor breached the site’s environmental permit 916 times between 2022 and 2024.
Viridor, which self-reported the non-compliance, said the breaches were caused by a third-party contractor.
The Environment Agency said it was satisfied Viridor’s application met all requirements under relevant environmental legislation and provides a ‘high-level of protection to the environment and human health’.
Matt Higginson, environment manager for the Environment Agency in Kent, South London and East Sussex, said environmental permits put ‘stringent conditions’ on waste sites.
“The environmental permit for Beddington is set at levels to protect human health and the environment,” Higginson continued.
“Emissions from the plant are monitored around the clock, and the data is rigorously assessed to identify if any breaches to the permit occur.”
The permit has also been updated to include an emission point associated with Waste Transfer Station (WTS) shredding equipment.
Planning permission for the Beddington energy-recovery facility was granted by Sutton Borough Council in May 2013.
This application also included accepting this new volume of waste and a ‘very large number’ of vehicle movements.