The £200 million facility is set to create hundreds of construction jobs without spoiling the historical heritage of West Sussex, nor increasing HGVs on the county’s roads.

HORSHAM, West Sussex - 2nd November 2020 - Less than eight months after being granted planning permission, Britaniacrest Recycling, West Sussex’s leading waste management firm, is able to announce rapid progress on the county’s most important landfill avoidance project, the Recycling, Recovery and Renewable Energy Facility (3Rs).

Following a Public Inquiry in February this year, which granted planning permission after the Company demonstrated that their proposal would not severely impact the rural landscape of West Sussex, the 3Rs facility will move into construction in summer 2021. This will unlock significant levels of investment and bring the urgently needed recycling and energy from waste facility forward on the existing Wealden Works industrial site on the outskirts of Horsham.

The 3Rs facility will not only increase recycling rates, it will divert West Sussex’s residual waste (waste which cannot be recycled, composted or re-used) away from landfill and reduce the high level of dependency the County now has on Europe. At the Public Inquiry, Britaniacrest showed how the Wealden Works development matches the capacity for energy from waste facilities required in the county and will meet its needs until at least 2031.

Director of Britaniacrest Recycling, Chris Foss, said: “Britaniacrest established itself in West Sussex nearly three decades ago. We’re proud to be investing in a new, state-of-the art waste recycling and treatment technology which will enable us to continue treating the county’s residual waste, but without adding more HGVs to local roads, nor impacting its local surroundings.

“We know that County Councillors and the public recognise that West Sussex needs to stop landfilling and exporting waste to Europe; instead, starting to treat non-recyclable waste as a valuable resource. But this shouldn’t be at the expense of spoiling protected landscapes or increasing traffic. We set out in public the need for this plant and the fact that it would address the need in the county for the duration of the Waste Local Plan. We are now pleased to say that it’s on its way.”

Since February this year, Britaniacrest has successfully satisfied a number of the conditions imposed by the Inspector, enabling the new 3Rs facility to move efficiently forward into construction in 2021. It has also applied to the Environment Agency to amend its current Environmental Permit, which will allow the 3Rs facility to operate at the highest environmental, safety and operating standards once the new facility opens.

Construction of the 3Rs facility will commence in summer 2021 and will create over 300 construction jobs and around 40 new, highly skilled operational roles.

Once operations begin at the 3Rs facility, it will process 230,000 tonnes of West Sussex’s residual waste every year, by firstly extracting more recycled materials and then generating low carbon electricity from the waste that remains.

3Rs Fact File:

1. The electricity generated will be enough to power a town with approximately 47,000 homes. 2. Britaniacrest is also looking to utilise the excess steam and heat from the 3Rs facility, and discussions are progressing well with a number of neighbouring businesses and developers.

3. During the construction of the 3Rs facility, Britaniacrest will continue to source local suppliers of construction-related goods and services from across West Sussex.

4. Once built, Britaniacrest also wants to employ local people in the operational roles wherever possible.

5. The 3Rs facility will treat much of West Sussex’s household and business wastes, by firstly sorting and segregating recoverable material such as metals, wood, rubble and some plastics to enable them to be recycled.

6. Energy from waste technology is globally acknowledged to be the most advanced form of treatment for residual waste. The 3Rs Facility will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it also generates clean electricity, recovers metals and allows residual ash to be re-used as an aggregate in the construction sector.

ENDS

Note to media contacts: Please find attached an artist impression of the 3Rs facility.

About Britaniacrest

Britaniacrest Recycling Ltd is a family business employing over 95 staff within the local area. Formed in 1993 by Ray Foss, with a wealth of knowledge and over 40 years’ experience in the haulage and waste recycling industry to provide affordable and professional skip hire and waste management service for private and commercial customers.

Britaniacrest is passionate about recycling and protecting the environment. We’re proud to bring forward its Recycling, Recovery and Renewable Energy Facility (3Rs) on the former Wealden Works Brickworks site, off Langhurstwood Road near Horsham. The 3Rs facility will provide the first sustainable alternative to landfilling non-recycling waste in West Sussex by treating it as a valuable resource.