The Suffolk energy-from-waste facility exports around 20 megawatts of electricity to the National Grid – enough to power 50,000 homes. You can see the latest figures here.

The on-site recycling facility uses the ash produced by the process to make secondary aggregate products for road-building and construction, for example.

The facility also includes a purpose-built visitor centre with interactive displays and activities that explain the importance of reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering value from waste.

Award-winning facility

Having received a number of awards in 2015 for the quality of its architectural design and environmental performance, the Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility received further recognition in 2016.

Towards the end of the year, the facility won two architectural awards. It received Best Sustainable Project in the 2016 Blueprint Awards, which recognise the very best in architecture and design from around the world. The facility was also recognised in December 2016 by the annual Civic Trust Awards, which celebrate outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment.

The facility is also one of the greenest buildings in the country. The BREEAM (Buildings Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) scheme measures a building’s environmental performance. The scheme granted the Suffolk energy-from-waste facility an ‘outstanding’ rating which has been achieved by less than 2% of two million buildings they have assessed.