Three Rivers District Council has recently built the most environmentally friendly waste depot in the district’s history, located in Rickmansworth.
Opening on Saturday, July 30, the waste depot is part of the Batchworth Depot. It will be the main centre for street cleansing teams, and recycling and waste collection for the 1000s of homes across the surrounding areas.
The state-of-the-art building includes an air source heat pump, LED lighting, radiant heating – which supply heat directly to the whole building – solar panels and two electric vehicle charging points providing four chargers, which all aid the environmental effort.
Also, the building has been surrounded by bird boxes, bat boxes, an otter’s holt and log piles for insects – all created from waste materials, to help the living species around the area. In another effort to enhance the local ecology, fruit trees have also been planted throughout the site.
The previous building was long overdue an upgrade, with a leaking roof, very little insulation and poor energy efficiency. The new building aims to change this.
Councillor Phil Williams, the council’s lead member for environmental services, climate change and sustainability, said: “The environment remains a key focus for this council, so whenever we can make improvements to our energy efficiency and promote, protect and support our local environment we will. The new Batchworth Depot is a prime example of that.”
Over a single year, the council collects more than 34,000 tonnes of waste and recycling, 21,450 of recycling and composting and 12,350 of residual waste.
The new building has cost £558,000 and is targeting a 50-year lifespan. The site will now be reconfigured to produce more electric vehicle charging spaces.
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