Focus on…Southgate Transfer Station

In terms of geographical coverage, GBN’s Southgate depot is a vital facility for the company, offering accessibility across the north of London and beyond.

The site, which has been in operation for over a decade provides a vital link into and out of the city, with a fleet of 14 skip lorries running across areas including Islington, Watford and Wembley.

Located on the Oakleigh Road South, a stone’s throw away from the north circular, the recycling and waste transfer station provides a key hub for material moving across the GBN Network.

Site manager Colin Hatton explains that the site handles a wide range of materials, which are sorted and moved on for processing at one of GBN’s facilities or elsewhere.

Vehicles that enter the site pass over a weighbridge before tipping their waste in the yard, where it is sorted into different bays for recycling.

This includes hard-core, fines and metal, largely collected from construction projects, which are separated on site using a trommel screen.

Packaging waste including cardboard is sorted and bulked at the Southgate facility, before being taken to the company’s Basildon site for shredding. Wood is diverted to the Leyton Recycling Centre where it is chipped and sold on for remanufacture.

As is consistent with the majority of waste entering onto GBN sites, most of the waste taken to Southgate — 98% is recycled or sent for energy recovery, with only a very small fraction sent on to landfill.

The Southgate facility has been in operation for over 10 years, and employs a total of 9 yard operatives, 3 office staff as well as a team of 14 drivers.

Despite challenges associated with running vehicles into central London, Mr Hatton said the site is one that runs effectively, evidenced, he says, by the fact that “the material moves very well.” Achieving quality is key to this success, he explained.