Set in 230 hectares of Essex countryside and agricultural land, much has been done to ensure that Ockendon landfill has little impact on residents of the adjacent small villages and rural areas – in fact many passers-by would be completely unaware of its existence.

When the site opened in 1977 with over 14 million m³ of airspace, traffic was at that time travelling through Ockendon village. A decision was subsequently taken to create a new access road directly from the A13 to prevent the local community being affected by large numbers of vehicles using the site. It now has a purpose-built road directly into the site which means vehicles do not have to pass any private housing.

In 2006, Veolia purchased all the Ockendon site from Lafarge, which gives the company greater control of the location and allows us to more quickly make decisions on carrying out site improvements in conjunction with the local community.

The new Leachate Treatment Plant - a first in the UK - uses a technology which has proved advantageous for local residents in that it is much smaller and more compact than traditional plants, causing less impact on the local environment. In addition, a company-imposed height restriction of 3m means that the plant does not encroach upon the visual aspect of surrounding residential housing.