EXCLUSIVE: The Western Riverside Waste Authority (WRWA) and its contractor Cory Riverside Energy have defended the Smugglers Way MRF in Wandsworth, in wake of an undercover journalist reporting that recyclable materials were actually being sent for incineration.
Yesterday, both the Telegraph and Greenpeace’s editorial arm UnEarthed published a story about an undercover journalist they had sent to the 84,000 tonne materials recycling facility (MRF), who reported poor working conditions and claimed that recyclable material was being picked from the line and sent for incineration instead.
The 84,000 tonne Smugglers Way MRF in Wandsworth, South London, which sorts recyclables from four London boroughs
The WRWA claimed the article was misleading and “could damage confidence in recycling”, while Cory questioned why someone would need to go undercover to a facility that already opens its doors to “many thousands of visitors” every year.
In the article, it was said that along with poor conditions and pay, workers were regularly taking out recyclable material for it to be incinerated, rather than recycled, in order to meet stringent targets.
The article also included the below video, which UnEarthed tweeted.
We’re in the middle of a global waste crisis – so we went undercover in the recycling industry.
This is what recycling looks like in 2019
https://t.co/P5ct4W7oH6 pic.twitter.com/gIFdrRB5O4
— Unearthed (@UE) June 28, 2019
‘Proud’
The 84,000 tonnes-a-year capacity plant sorts recyclables from Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, Wandsworth and the royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea – the four WRWA member boroughs.
And, in response to the article, Mark Broxup general manager of the Western Riverside Waste Authority said to letsrecycle.com that the Authority remains proud of the facility.
“We are concerned that the articles published by the Daily Telegraph and Greenpeace Unearthed will cause our residents to lose confidence in recycling, which could result in a negative impact on household recycling rates.”
Mr Broxup continued: “We spend considerable resources encouraging residents to recycle as much and as accurately as possible, and we want all residents to be confident that their efforts to separate out the clean, dry and targeted recyclables are not wasted.
“We are confident that our MRF is one of the most modern and well-run in the country, and we are proud that c87% of the material we receive is sent for recycling. Cory does not send any recyclables outside of Europe.”
On the subject of contamination, Mr Broxup remarked that this stands at around 13% of the tonnage sent to the facility, where it is then separated and sent via river to its Belvedere energy from waste facility.
Inside the facility where recyclables are sorted
He concluded: “We are proud to be completely open and transparent about the workings of our MRF. It is visited by more than 4,000 children and around 1,000 adults each year, and we extend our invitation to anyone who wants to see it for themselves.”
The article in question yesterday went on to say that “because waste is a commodity even some sorted waste ends up in incineration”.
It was indicated throughout the story that workers had to meet targets and were therefore taking out recyclable material to hit this.
Undercover?
Cory Riverside Energy, which runs the plant for the WRWA, hit out at the story and urged people to come and look at the facility themselves.
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, Dougie Sutherland, CEO of Cory Riverside Energy, said: “It’s disappointing that an undercover reporter was sent ‘behind the scenes’ to a facility that already opens its doors to many thousands of visitors every year from the community, schools and the media.
“For anyone with any doubt, we strongly urge them to book a visit. They will find a modern, efficient facility run by a responsible employer with staff who are well-trained, well looked-after and who we trust to do the right thing. We looked closely at all of the footage that was captured and struggle to see anything that constitutes anything other than good behaviour. Our hardworking and diligent team deserves praise rather than censure.
“[The MRF] is one of the highest-quality and best-run in the country, and residents should feel reassured that their recycling efforts are not in vain.”
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
