News article
MCC turns to Veolia to expand sustainability efforts
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, has teamed up with resource management company Veolia in a bid to extend its sustainability credentials.
The partnership will focus on a wide-ranging recycling service, with the plan to increase current recycling rates by 50-60%. This will be done by capturing key materials through the introduction of on-site systems to separate food, dry mixed recycling and glass, and implementing new processes for coffee cups and hand towels. Collected food waste will be used to generate low carbon energy and soil improvement products.
An electric fleet of vehicles will also be used to remove the recycling from site, further reducing the stadium’s carbon footprint by roughly 40%. Veolia’s local facilities will be used to process the waste.
The new measures will continue the venue’s existing zero-waste-to-landfill policy by treating unrecyclable materials at SELCHP, Veolia’s Energy Recovery Facility, to generate electricity for the grid and heat for the communities connected to the 2,800-home district heating scheme.
"We have set ambitious targets for our recycling rates and are aiming to be net zero carbon."
“Getting this latest partnership across the line at the Home of Cricket is another example of how we can deliver real sustainability and carbon reductions to major sporting venues,” said Simon Futcher, Commercial Business Development Director at Veolia.
“By identifying and developing new operations to treat waste at big events, we can close the loop and advance the circular economy. Through our SELCHP facility, we can also transform unrecyclable items into energy, and even the resulting ashes can be transformed into new construction materials.”
Stuart Dunlop, MCC’s Sustainability and Accessibility Manager, added: “Managing the waste generated at Lord’s is a major operation, and with Veolia bringing its industry-leading expertise in resource management, we are showcasing that MCC is taking sustainability seriously. We have set ambitious targets for our recycling rates and are aiming to be net zero carbon, and we’re sure our collaboration with Veolia will accelerate us towards these goals.”