Waste and recycling wonder open day is anything but ‘rubbish’

Have you ever wondered what happens to your rubbish after is has been thrown away?

Visitors about to go on a tour of the Materials Recovery Facility

Over 450 curious visitors turned out to the waste and recycling wonder open day in Southwark on Saturday 22 September to find what happens to their waste after it has been thrown it away.

Children enjoying the vehicle display

Veolia Environmental Services who work in partnership with Southwark Council, were happy to showcase their new state of the art facility responsible for dealing with the entire borough’s household waste as part of the capital-wide annual Open House weekend.

Visitors were encouraged to tour the sorting and treatment facilities as well as getting up close and personal with some of the big machines used on site! Children also enjoyed a range of interactive educational exhibits, a bouncy castle, face painter and other games.

It was a fantastic opportunity for the community to see first hand an extraordinary piece of engineering technology at work. The tour of the plant gave a great understanding of how this vast facility turns Southwark’s waste into useable resources and diverts the borough’s refuse and old junk away from landfill.

Councillor Hargrove in a 360 vehicle

There was also a fun educational facility on site which helped children and adults learn more about the huge benefits effective recycling and waste management has on the environment. It has been really interesting for everybody learning about what happens to the materials and recyclables we use in our homes every day. (Cllr Barrie Hargrove)

Sabine Kummutat, a local resident from Rotherhithe thought it was fabulous informative day out. She was very interesting to see where the rubbish goes. Her three year old loved the displays, bouncy castle and vehicle park. And it’s not just local residents who were curious… Eva Charringstan who travelled from Tonbridge said, ‘it was probably the best Open House Tour in the catalogue! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and our tour guide had lots of knowledge and enthusiasm’.

Veolia Environmental Services also offer tours and meeting space for local community groups, and for those of you who missed out on the open day event, get in touch and arrange a tour visit.