About the Edmonton EcoPark

Edmonton EcoPark is a waste management site of approximately 38 acres, located immediately to the north of the North Circular and to the west of the River Lee Navigation. The facility is well placed to continue to provide a sustainable and cost-effective solution for dealing with north London’s increasing volumes of waste over the next 30 years.

The existing Energy from Waste facility is coming to the end of its life, having served north London well for over 50 years and has diverted more than 21 million tonnes of waste that would have otherwise gone to landfill. It is the oldest facility of its type in London and one of the oldest in Europe. The facility has successfully diverted over 21 million tonnes of waste from landfill since energy from waste treatment started nearly 50 years ago.

A replacement facility is required to ensure that we can continue to manage waste sustainably for current and future north London residents. The facility will ensure that we continue to divert north London’s non-recyclable waste from landfill.

Plans to replace the facility began in 2013 and was followed with extensive public consultation in 2014 and 2015. Our plans took account of environmental considerations and a number of alternative options were considered.

We were granted consent by the Government to operate a state-of-the-art facility at the site in 2017 and work to prepare the site for construction started in January 2019. We are making rapid progress to deliver the Project and expect to start moving operations to the replacement facility in 2025, with all operations moved by 2027.

The NLHPP as a whole is an integral part of north London’s sustainable waste strategy. We need to continue recovering energy from waste because, even with NLWA’s waste prevention efforts and positive action to reduce and recycle, there will always be non-recyclable waste that has to be treated. The most sustainable way to treat the waste is at the new facility and avoid sending it to landfill. Waste forecasts for the future show that even if we reach or exceed our 50% recycling target, which is around 20% higher than our current recycling levels, the amount of waste created in north London will still increase due to population growth.

Edmonton EcoPark will treat household waste as well as local authority collected waste, and any waste coming in through the Resource Recovery Facility from local residents or businesses.

The new Energy Recovery Facility has been sized to deal with the non-recyclable waste from households in the seven north London boroughs.

Our flagship Resource Recovery Facility will provide capacity to recycle around 135,000 tonnes of waste from across the boroughs. This includes the new public Reuse and Recycling Centre, where residents and businesses will be able to bring their recyclable materials directly to Edmonton EcoPark for the first time.

Retaining this facility in north London will benefit north London homes and businesses by providing a much-needed service and generating jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities during construction and ongoing operations.

The new Energy from Waste facility, which was approved in 2017, will not only manage waste but will also support a heat network and generate electricity for 127,000 homes, an increase of 55,000 homes compared to the existing facility. 

The replacement facility will be one of the most efficient of its kind, using the most effective, proven technology which will use the highest possible standard of emissions cleaning technologies. This includes Selective Catalytic Reduction to control the emission of nitrogen oxides, as well as a combined wet / dry scrubbing system to capture particulates. It will be the first energy recovery facility in the UK to use these technologies and will be one of the safest and cleanest facilities in the country.

The new facility is integral to our wider waste strategy, which prioritises waste reduction and recycling in line with the waste hierarchy. As well as the ERF, we’ll also be investing in new recycling facilities for our residents including a new Resource Recovery Facility, with capacity to manage up to 135,000 tonnes of wood, plastic and metal every year and a new public reuse and recycling centre where for the first time ever, residents will be able to come and bring items to the EcoPark for reuse and recycling.

Due to its strategic importance in managing north London’s waste, the site is protected by planning policies as a waste site.

Edmonton EcoPark is managed by LondonEnergy Ltd, North London Waste Authority's wholly owned company, which operates the existing Energy from Waste facility under a contract. For further details, see LondonEnergy’s website, www.londonenergyltd.com.