LWARB invest £2.9 million in waste infrastructure and create 55 jobs for London

Following approval at the 6 December Board meeting, The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has today (13 December 2010) announced that it will provide £1 million of funding to GreenTech to support a plastics recycling facility in North London and £1.9 million towards London’s first Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant, to be developed by TEG Environmental (TEG).

GreenTech
Green Tech, whose sister company are PTP Group Limited (PTP), an established plastics reprocessing company, will set up a 25,000 tonne plastic recycling facility in the London Borough of Enfield.

GreenTech proposes to use plastic recycling technology that is new to the UK, currently running successfully within a plant in the Czech Republic. The process produces a high grade recycled plastic which has similar properties to that of virgin plastic. The quality of the plastic produced also remains high even when recycled over and over again. 

The new facility will recycle predominantly plastic bottles delivered from London based Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs). It will be fully operational by the end of 2012, creating around 47 permanent jobs and displacing around 534,000 tonnes of CO2 over the 20 year life of the project.
Javed Mawji, Chief Executive of GreenTech said “We are very pleased to receive this support from LWARB and look forward to playing our part in providing a London based solution to the capital’s waste.”

TEG
TEG, an established green technology company, will develop a 30,000 tonne Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plant using the funding from LWARB, the first of its kind in London. The facility will also incorporate in-vessel composting (IVC) technologies capable of processing 20,000 tonnes of organic waste; this technology mix means that the plant will divert up to 50,000 tonnes of food and garden waste from landfill each year.

The facility will be located in the London Sustainable Industries Park in Dagenham, a site promoted by the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) for the development of AD infrastructure. TEG participated in a competitive bidding process and was selected by LTGDC as preferred developers and operators of the proposed plant.  

The facility will turn food and garden waste from London households, businesses and industrial catering companies, into organic fertiliser to be used on farms and agricultural land.  The plant will also be capable of generating 1 MW of renewable energy for export to the National Grid and TEG is also exploring the potential to export the additional heat produced by the process into local heat networks.

It is expected that the plant will displace over 185,000 tonnes of CO2 over the 20 year life of the project, generate power sufficient to light 2,000 homes, create eight permanent jobs, and be up and running in 2012.
 
Along with the funding to set up the AD technology provided by LWARB, Albion Ventures LLP, a London based venture capital investor, will also be investing in the TEG organic waste facility. Albion is experienced in TEG’s market place and their investment will help develop the plant and fund the purchase of equipment.

Commenting for TEG, Chief Executive Michael Fishwick said “TEG is delighted that its proposed London development was selected for funding by the London Waste and Recycling Board and their support is very much welcomed. Recycling of food and green waste is becoming a national priority and with such a large population in London the local need for these facilities is pressing.  TEG’s plant will produce renewable energy and high quality fertiliser, maximising the potential benefit from the carbon in these waste streams. The Dagenham Dock site is ideal for the facility and for servicing this part of London and we look forward to expanding our partnership with Albion LLP with our first facility in the Capital."

Commenting on the funding, James Cleverly, Chair of LWARB said “These are great projects for LWARB to invest in, not only are they diverting waste from landfill, and closing the gap on the waste infrastructure requirements in the capital, they are a first for London in terms of the technology being used in both facilities.”

The Mayor Boris Johnson said “This is great news for London, we desperately need more recycling facilities and this vital funding will mean that we can recycle more plastic and food, helping us to save money and our environment.”

Including the Biossence gasifier and Bywaters’ MRF, both in East London, LWARB has now invested in four waste infrastructure projects, with further funding announcements due to be made in spring 2011.

ENDS

Notes to Editors
•       LWARB, chaired by James Cleverly, Assembly Member, working in conjunction with the Mayor of London and London Councils, has an investment fund made up of money from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the London Development Agency (LDA) to spend over four years to improve waste management in the capital
•       For more information on PTP Group visit www.ptpgroup.eu
•       TEG Environmental are part of TEG Group Plc, for more information on TEG Group visit www.theteggroup.plc.uk
•       For more information on London Thames Gateway Development Corporation visit www.ltgdc.org.uk
•       For more information on Albion Ventures LLP visit www.albion-ventures.co.uk
•       London’s 33 boroughs remain statutorily responsible for the collection and disposal of waste in the capital

For media queries please call Annie Gilbert, Communications Officer, London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) on 020 7983 4626.

Annie Gilbert
Communications Officer
London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB)
t: 020 7983 4626
m: 07733 314 760
w: www.lwarb.gov.uk