The first truck containing approximately 15 tonnes of waste left the former Waste4Fuel site in St Mary Cray today.
The news follows successful completion of a land deal in September, with the council now owning the land and the access road to the site. Removal of the waste is expected to take around 20 weeks to complete with work taking place throughout the week, Monday to Saturday. The Council’s existing waste and recycling partner, Veolia, have been contracted to undertake the removal operation.
"We are committed to removing this eyesore as quickly as we can with the minimum of fuss and inconvenience to local residents. So many peoples’ lives have been affected by this for so long but today marks a new beginning and I am optimistic for the future” said Bromley Council Leader Councillor Stephen Carr.
Sean Trotter, Regional Manager for Veolia in South East London said: “We are delighted to be undertaking this important operation. Veolia has a great deal of skill and experience in handling waste materials and treating them in the most environmentally sustainable way possible. We will be working closely with the Council, the Environment Agency and the local community to ensure that we remove the waste safely and efficiently.”
The cost of purchasing the land and removing the rubbish is estimated to be in the region of £2.7million, with the Environment Agency securing much of the funding and the council contributing £300,000 to secure the ownership of the site. Veolia is working with local company, Pindens, which will sort the waste after it leaves site so that as much material as possible can be recycled. Suitable measures will be taken to reduce the fire risk and nuisance from dust, litter and smells, whilst local air quality and nearby land will continue to be monitored for signs of pollution. The works will be closely monitored by the Environment Agency throughout.
Some local traffic disruption is likely during the work with heavy vehicles travelling to and from the site but again, Veolia, will endeavour to minimise the impact.
Further information is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/waste4fuel
