SITA UK, Forth Ports Form Port Recycling Hub

Suez Environment subsidiary, SITA UK, and Forth Ports Limited announced a long-term partnership that will see the creation of a major recycling and resource management hub based at the Port of Tilbury on the River Thames.

The partnership is part of a growth strategy for both companies that includes the acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, of Forth Ports-owned Nordic Recycling by SITA UK under a share purchase agreement and a long-term agreement between the two companies.

As part of this agreement, SITA UK will deliver a new alternative fuels waste material processing facility at the Port of Tilbury, which will process both solid recovered fuel (SRF) and refuse derived fuel (RDF). The facility is part of a multi-million pound investment which will complement the materials recovery facility (MRF) currently operated at the Port of Tilbury.

Nordic Recycling, based at Tilbury Dock, includes the 100,000 metric tons per year capacity materials recovery facility and a recycling collection business, which have become part of SITA UK’s wider operations.

Located at a major logistics interchange, the Port of Tilbury and London Container Terminal provide SITA UK with a unique opportunity to transport alternative fuels and secondary raw materials, both domestically and internationally, by road, rail and sea.

Chief Executive Officer of SITA UK, David Palmer-Jones said, “I am very pleased to welcome Nordic Recycling to SITA UK. We look forward to working with our new colleagues to further improve the efficiency of the materials recycling facility and to expand our recycling activities in the south east of England.

“By investing in new processing facilities at the port, we will not only create new jobs, but will also enable the south east to divert a significant amount of its waste material from landfill and put it to good use instead.”

Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive of Forth Ports Limited (owners of The Port of Tilbury), said, “This new long term partnership is a significant achievement for our business and we are delighted to be working with our multi-national customer, SITA UK.

“The sale of Nordic Recycling will allow us to focus on our key port activities and SITA UK’s expansion plans at the port play to our key strengths in the handling and distribution of general cargo and containers. Through our excellent Portcentric networks and logistics experience, we will play a significant part in the success of this partnership.”

As part of the agreement, The Port of Tilbury has also awarded a 10-year contract to Nordic Recycling (subject to regular market-testing) to provide waste management services at the port.

sita.co.uk