Greengaged

In the second part of the Greengaged event, “Wasted Talent”, the twenty-five piece group of designers, writers and academics arrived at Powerday waste recycling centre on Thursday morning. We were warmly met by Chris and John from Powerday, who after a brief introduction split us into two groups for an informal tour around the facility.

The 10acre site, which opened in May 2007, has taken 12 years of planning and £12m investment. Located at Old Oak Sidings in London, the facility sits centre to a transport hub of road, rail and canal links, making it the only site in London with such extensive access in to and out of the plant. As well as a state-of-the-art recycling facility, the site also includes a waste transfer station, aggregate and sand handling facility, a plant hire depot and a training centre.

Capable of recycling 1.6 million tonnes of construction waste a year, Powerday is currently recycling 95% of all the waste it receives. They recover 70% of the waste received into new uses, 25% is used in landfills for restoration and only 5% goes straight to landfill. John explained that the 5% currently going to landfill is recyclable, however has yet to find a suitable market for resale. John further explained that Powerday’s aim is to recover 100% of the waste it receives.

The role of designers and architects is crucial to the reduction and disposal of waste materials, they explained. The Powerday plant therefore welcomes students and professionals to book a tour, and Greengaged would like to encourage all young designers to take at least one trip to such a place. This was such an insightful trip for all who attended. Did you know, that we only have a mere 3 years left of landfill space in London!?

On the barge trip back to Paddington, Greengaged took the opportunity to speak to some of the attendees. “It was interesting to see the other side to recycling, which you just don’t get to see very often”, said one Royal College of Art student. “This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, to take a barge trip to a recycling plant, and to be a part of a collective that is very determined to go green”, said a second. “With traditional design festivals there tends to just be a lot of design ‘on show’, which is interesting, however, it is important to have a different view on what is really meant by sustainable design”, said an Irish graduate designer.

For more information about the Powerday recycling plant, visit Powerday.co.uk. You can also see a whole batch of photographs of the Greengaged trip over on Flickr.