The commercial rubbish thrown away has taken many resources to extract or grow, refine or package and transport for sale in shops. Therefore it is not just the product, packaging or food we have wasted but all the energy used to create the goods in the first place that we need to recover as well.

Put simply we are throwing away the very things that could be recycled to make new products and recover energy that reduces our need to burn coal or other fossil fuels to create electricity. Recovering energy from residual waste helps us fight global warming by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases we produce.

This inextricable link between energy and waste is the reason behind the concept of the Thames Gateway Power facility. By linking two such important activities – resource recovery and low carbon energy production – Thames Gateway Power is able to offer the community economically sustainable employment. As previously mentioned the presence of the power plant on such a large commercial development as the Sustainable Industries Park will not only reduce the impact of these other businesses on the environment but it will also be a unique selling point with which to attract businesses. In these difficult economic times dependable low carbon energy and reduced waste management costs are attractive to many who may wish to locate on the wider Sustainable Industries Park development.

The key benefits of the Thames Gateway Power facility are bulleted below;

Energy
The realities of our dependence on fossil fuels for energy and our unsustainable consumption of the earth's natural resources have long been understood. However, it is not until recently that they have started to impact on everyday life. No one can miss the increase in costs such as petrol, electricity and gas. As consumers we have all experienced dramatic rises in energy costs which have directly contributed to rising inflation and impacts on the ability of the companies that provide jobs to compete and stay in business. These and climate change issues dominate the news headlines wherever you look, and the Government's announcement that £100bn will be spent to tackle climate change and increase renewable energy illustrates the importance of switching from our dependence on fossil fuels. Indeed the London Boroughs have their own targets for the production of renewable energy. Thames Gateway Power will satisfy 10% of this target under gasification capacity.

Set against the uncertain costs and availability of energy, the occupiers of the Sustainable Industries Park will have the potential of security of price and supply and for this to also provide major carbon savings can only be a very attractive option.

Waste
Each year in the UK we throw away a staggering 70 million tonnes of rubbish. Half of this (circa 39 Million tonnes) is produced by businesses working hard to supply us all with the things we need.

In fact the latest figures show that in the East London Waste Authority (ELWA) region, waste created by businesses totals some 545,000 tonnes per annum, although just under 1 Million tonnes of commercial and industrial waste is treated by the ELWA district in accordance with the London Plan. For the purposes of Waste Management, Barking & Dagenham is part of the London Plan.

As part of the latest reforms to the planning system, Development Plan documents are under preparation to plan for the future waste management needs of the East London Waste Authority made up of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Newham. However, there is a great deal of work that has been undertaken to date which demonstrates that there is less than 6 years left before current landfills are exhausted.

 

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