Viridor, which operates Beddington Energy Recovery Facility, wants to increase the amount of waste it treats there by 10%.

It currently processes around 347,422 tonnes of non-hazardous residual waste annually by burning it at very high temperatures.

But a recent Environment Agency report concluded that Viridor breached its permit conditions between September 2022 and March 2024.

There were 916 occasions when the daily emissions limit value for the amount of Oxides of Nitrogen going into the atmosphere was exceeded.

Sutton Council says while it accepts there was not a danger to human health or the environment, it’s concerned about the EA’s monitoring of the site.

In the letter, Sutton Council says;

The Council has been told by Viridor and the EA that the number of exceedances does not breach
legal air quality limits. We also acknowledge that the UK Health Security Agency concludes that the
emissions are unlikely to have caused harm to human health or the environment. However, for our
residents who live in the area, this news will still be deeply troubling following other recent incidents
and outages at the Beddington site.

What is also concerning is the lack of proper monitoring and scrutiny by the EA of the data they
received from Viridor. In order for these sites to run as required legally, it is important that our
residents have confidence in the ability of government regulators. This report only contributes to the
erosion of that trust.

We are also informed that as a result of these breaches, Viridor’s compliance rating at the
Beddington site is likely to be downgraded from a rating of A to E. You will understand the impact
this will have on residents’ confidence in how the ERF is managed.

Despite this report and the downgrading of Viridor’s rating, we are aware that the EA is still
considering approving plans for Viridor to treat more waste at the Beddington site. The Council is on
record as opposing any increases and we are astonished that the EA is still even considering this.
This would be the wrong decision in light of this Compliance Assessment Report from the EA itself.