Boost for jobs and apprenticeships in north London as contract awarded for new Edmonton recycling facilities

The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) has now awarded major UK construction company, VINCI Construction UK Limited trading as Taylor Woodrow, with the contract to build flagship recycling facilities at the Edmonton EcoPark. 

This £100m investment in modern recycling infrastructure is a vital catalyst for the local green recovery and NLWA’s efforts to increase recycling rates across north London to 50 per cent.

Work to build the new green infrastructure will start in early 2021. The facilities include a flagship Resource Recovery Facility with capacity to manage 135,000 tonnes of recyclable material every year, as well as the first ever Reuse and Recycling Centre at the EcoPark which will enable local residents to bring their waste directly to the site. EcoPark House will open up the site to the public, providing a knowledge-sharing hub for waste prevention and recycling, and a modern home for the Edmonton Sea Cadets.

The recycling facilities will complement NLWA’s pioneering action to reduce waste and increase household recycling across north London. This includes the roll out of the UK’s first Low Plastic Zones last year, as well as running the country’s only dedicated waste prevention conference. 

Councillor Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA, said:

“We are building flagship recycling infrastructure to bolster our plans for 50% household recycling across north London. This will be a real step change in our ability to extract more quality materials for recycling and expand our existing network of public recycling centres”. 

“I’m delighted to appoint Taylor Woodrow to kick start this crucial project. We’re delivering direct public investment during a challenging time for the economy and creating apprenticeships for our residents in highly-skilled roles including construction and engineering”.

Julian Gatward, Managing Director of Taylor Woodrow said:

“Taylor Woodrow is delighted to have been appointed to deliver the EcoPark South Project to contribute towards a more sustainable future for waste in North London.”

"We will be constructing a Resource Recovery Facility which will receive and sort waste; a Recycling Centre for public and business use; and EcoPark House which will provide visitor, community and education facilities for the site.”

"We are committed to sustainable construction to deliver a world-class facility, which will benefit the local community for years to come."

Taylor Woodrow has a track record of working on complex infrastructure projects across energy, rail and highways sectors, including the iconic King’s Cross Western Concourse, and the Old Oak Common Depot for the fleet of Elizabeth line trains, where they worked with design partners to develop a hybrid renewable energy system to significantly reduce CO2 production and operational costs.

They have also played an active role in harnessing energy from waste over recent years, with the construction of state-of-the-art centres both in North Yorkshire and Cornwall to transform the management and handling of waste.

The North London Heat and Power Project will provide at least 100 apprenticeships in total, of which 20 will be linked to building the new recycling facilities. The Project is a major part of Enfield Council’s plans for a high-tech industrial hub in the south of the borough.

Preparatory works started at the EcoPark in January 2019 and they are progressing at pace. Enfield-based business Galldris Construction Services is building a new vehicle entrance to the north of the site to improve traffic flows from the EcoPark, and Buckingham Group are building a construction laydown area to the east of the River Lee Navigation. Highly specialised engineering work will start in September to divert two sewer pipes to enable the construction of the new recycling facilities.

View of the Resource Recovery Facility & Reuse and Recycling Centre

View of EcoPark House on the River Lee Navigation