With over 30 years of experience as a proudly family run business, Thamesdown Recycling Ltd became a Limited company in 2025 and are already using their momentum to scale up their onsite sustainability with solar PV installed by CleanEarth Energy.
Thamesdown Recycling was started by Jeremy Freeth, originally as a collector of glass bottles and jars from local companies, before growing with demand into the thriving fully licensed recycling centre it is now. The site is purpose built and environmentally compliant, with an environmental policy in place to eliminate or minimise emissions wherever possible. And after seeing the success of CleanEarth client Accolade Wines (now Vinarchy), they had found the right supplier of renewable energy to see this environmental work elevated.
Having grown to match the needs of their expanding clientele over the past three decades, Thamesdown Recycling recognised renewable energy as the next step in their journey for some time. Working within the waste management industry still creates their own emissions impact, and Thamesdown Recycling are reducing this by 53 tonnes of Scope 2 emissions per annum. With the 25-year lifespan on their solar PV, these reductions will reach 1,266 tonnes – roughly equivalent to 9,288,334 kilometres of driving, or 636,420 litres of gasoline consumption. This project speaks to getting the timing right for the business and acting on strong opportunity, as they capitalised on grant funding available at the time.
Their new solar PV system is a 300kW installation that will generate an annual 278,000 kWh of clean electricity directly on-site. This will help them to manage their energy usage and mitigate grid reliance during periods of peak demands, supported by grant funding that made the system a more accessible financial step with a payback period of just over four years.
Thamesdown set a strong example, joining Perry’s Recycling as the second member of The Recycling Association to install solar with CleanEarth Energy. These two members contribute 300 tonnes of annual Scope 2 emissions reductions, with a combined lifetime reduction of 8,766 tonnes. As recycling centres adopt renewable energy solutions, emissions reductions like these elevate the sectors existing contributions significantly and protects against the volatility associated with grid reliance. The waste management industry plays a significant role in forwarding the UK’s decarbonisation goals, reflected in the Environmental Services Association’s own goals of a net zero sector by 2040.
Both Thamesdown Recycling and Perry’s Recycling are also ensuring greater energy and financial security for their businesses. Non-commodity costs are taking up an increasing percentage of the energy bill, meaning that while electricity costs appear to stabilise the overall bill is still having sweeping impacts on the bottom line. With renewable energy solutions like solar, the waste management sector can reduce its reliance on the grid and therefore mitigate the impact of these non-commodity costs. For Thamesdown Recycling, they’re going to be saving a cumulative £743,000 on energy costs over the solar PV system’s lifetime.
With significant carbon reductions, energy cost savings, and less reliance on the grid, Thamesdown Recycling are set up for another 25-years of success.
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