In 2023, we launched our revised sustainability strategy which is focused on three key pillars. Further information can be found in our sustainability report below.

A graphic showing Cory's sustainability strategy

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Sustainability Report 2022

Download our 2022 Sustainability Report to explore how we're moving to net zero. 

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The Waste Hierarchy

The Waste Hierarchy ranks waste management options according to what is best for the environment. It prioritises preventing waste in the first place. When waste is created, it gives priority to preparing it for reuse, then recycling, then recovery, and last of all disposal.

There will always be some residual waste that cannot be recycled, remanufactured, or reused. At Cory we work to partner of choice for managing residual waste with the lowest possible environmental impacts.

Stages

Using less material in design and manufacture. Keeping products for longer; re-use. Using less hazardous materials.

Checking, cleaning, repairing, refurbishing, whole items or spare parts.

Turning waste into a new substance or product. Includes composting if it meets quality protocols.

Includes anaerobic digestion, incineration with energy recovery, gasification and pyrolysis which produce energy (fuels, heat and power) and materials from waste; some backfilling.

Landfill and incineration without energy recovery.

Cory supports The Waste Hierarchy through:

  • Processing recyclates for recycling markets.
  • Diverting waste from landfill (saving c.200kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per tonne of waste diverted).
  • Recovering energy from waste to generate electricity.
  • Recovering the by-products from the energy from waste process to produce aggregate and construction materials.

We are committed to reducing waste throughout our own operations and the communities we service.

Circular economy

We are proud to provide a vital public service and prevent unnecessary material being buried in landfill or exported abroad for others to deal with.

By focusing on recycling and resource recovery, we keep materials in use for as long as possible and help grow London’s circular economy:  

1

Our materials recycling facility in Wandsworth processes recyclates for recycling markets.

2

Our Household Waste and Recycling Centres give recyclable and reusable materials a second life.

3

We relieve congestion and reduce air pollution on London’s roads by using the River Thames to transport around 90% of the waste we manage. 

4

Our Riverside energy from waste facility processes waste and generates baseload electricity for the UK’s national grid.

5

The by-products from the incineration process, incinerator bottom ash and air pollution control residue, provide aggregate and construction materials, reducing the need to quarry virgin materials.

6

Recovered metals are separated and sent to be recycled into new products. 

7

Our Riverside energy from waste facility has been operating within all daily air pollution limits since it opened in 2012. 

8

Our Environmental Permit requires us to report monthly emissions data to the Environment Agency as well as publish it on our website. As part of our commitment to transparency we also publish the annual performance report that we submit to the Environment Agency. 

9

The Environmental Research Group of King’s College London independently monitors air quality around our Riverside facility at eight different monitoring locations in the surrounding boroughs of Bexley, Barking and Dagenham and Havering. The results from its 2019 study confirmed that the UK Air Quality Strategy objectives were met at all monitoring sites around our facility.  

10

We are constantly looking for opportunities to upgrade our continuous monitoring system to improve our ability to monitor our emissions and continue to be a sector leader in measurement and transparency. 

11

We are developing a battery storage system to supply additional power to the offsite distribution network at times of peak electrical demand.

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