The South London Waste Partnership Joint Committee met to discuss communications and engagement, contract performance, and budget updates, and to approve the proposed management budget for 2026/27. The committee approved the 2026/27 management budget and heard updates on the Beddington Energy Recovery Facility (ERF).

Beddington ERF Performance and Emissions

The committee received an update on the performance of the Beddington ERF, including a discussion of emissions and the ongoing issues with the calibration of the Continuous Emissions Monitoring System (CEMS). The committee heard that the Environment Agency (EA) had found that the facility exceeded its permitted daily emissions limit for Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) 916 times between August 2022 and March 2024 due to an incorrect calibration of its emissions monitoring system.

The EA's investigation concluded that while the issue was due to human error by third-party contractors, Viridor, as the plant operator, had breached its permit by not ensuring adequate checks and scrutiny of these systems. Despite the exceedances, the EA and UK Health Security Agency concluded that there was no significant public health impact.

Councillor Scott Roche asked for reassurance that the SLWP's opposition to Viridor's application to increase the amount of waste it processes at the Beddington ERF was as strong as ever. The committee was told that the EA is waiting for its investigation to conclude before making a final decision on the permit variation and that the SLWP has made its position clear, opposing the extension. The SLWP also confirmed that it is levying the maximum contractual penalties on Viridor for every exceedance.

The committee also heard that there had been a sulfur dioxide exceedance in October due to an errant load of waste received at the facility, but that the EA did not consider it to be a significant exceedance.

Contracts Performance

The Joint Committee received the Contracts Performance Report, which provided an update on the performance of waste management services for the first two quarters of the 2025/26 contract year. Key points included:

• A decrease in food waste tonnage of 6% and a significant decrease in green waste (17.8%) due to a dry summer.
• A slight increase (0.4%) in recycling performance at Household Reuse and Recycling Centres (HRRCs), despite the dry summer.
• An increase of 1.82% in the volume of residual waste delivered to the Beddington ERF.
• One carbon monoxide emissions exceedance on line two in May, and a sulfur dioxide exceedance in October.

The report also noted that a mattress recycling scheme at HRRCs was not viable due to low recycling rates, logistical challenges, and higher costs compared to current disposal methods. Councillor Ruth Dombey asked if there was an issue with memory foam in mattresses, and was told that the more memory foam there is in mattresses, the lower the recycling rate will be.

Councillor Jill Whitehead asked about queuing times for lorries at the Beddington ERF. She said that she had spent more than two hours waiting in a lorry to access the facility. She asked if the SLWP had gathered information on what the size of the prize might be if queuing times were reduced. The committee agreed to investigate ways to reduce queuing times at the facility.

The committee noted that as a consequence of the extension of the HRRC contract, an asset replacement program of key assets on site would be undertaken, including bins, containers, gantries, and vehicles, representing an investment of around £4 million.

Communications and Engagement

The committee received the Communications and Engagement Update, which covered activities between May and October 2025. The report highlighted the end of the 'What's Your Plastic Solution' campaign and the ongoing efforts to secure external funding for future awareness campaigns. The report also detailed the publication of Waste Watch on the SLWP website, facility tours, and social value initiatives.

The report also covered communications around the NOx calibration error at the Beddington ERF, including a press release and a meeting of the Beddington Community Liaison Group. The SLWP has suggested that Viridor withdraw its application to the EA to be allowed to treat more waste at the facility, provide funds for local air quality improvement projects, and invest more in community engagement activities.

Budget Update 2025/26

The committee received the Budget Update 2025/26, which forecast a total overspend of £20,575 against the approved budget. The overspend was attributed to unbudgeted legal costs (£9,493) and an overspend in the core activity budget (£11,082), mainly due to staff pay awards and increased subscription costs for document management systems.

Proposed Management Budget 2026/27

The committee approved the Proposed Management Budget 2026/27 of £707,000, representing an annual cost of £177,000 per borough, an increase of just under £16,000 per borough on the previous year. The increase includes a new legal budget, an estimated 3.5% inflation applied to staffing costs, and an annual increase for data and storage costs. The budget will enable the SLWP to continue to commission and manage delegated services and deliver key actions and objectives set out in the SLWP Work Programme 2025-30¹.