Recycling and waste management company Cory has awarded a £34 million contract to civils contractor ISC to build a Waste Transfer Station (WTS) on their riverside site in Barking. The project is set to not only revive Barking Wharf but also attract over £50 million of investment to the area.  

So far, there are plans to add a safeguarded wharf and waste site to transport waste to Cory’s Riverside 2 project, a 650,000 tonne Energy from Waste (EfW) plant in Belvedere. 

In 2020, the then Secretary of State Priti Patel granted development consent for Riverside 2. Construction on the EfW facility is set to be completed by 2026 and could power around 176,000 homes across London. 

The Barking WTS will provide additional capacity for handling and transporting waste heading to the Riverside 2 facility, which will be transported via tugs and barges on the Thames and the River Roding, which will remove 80,000 lorry movements from London’s streets. Chris Girdham, development director at Cory, said:

As well as providing essential capacity for London’s non-recyclable waste, this project will also allow us to reduce the environmental impact of the site on local ecology, reduce pollution and, through the use of the River Roding for transport of materials, substantially improve air quality across London.”