There is a tradition of giving tunnel boring machines female names in order to protect the workers underground. In this case they were named after pioneering British women. Millicent was named after the suffragist and political leader Dame Millicent Fawcett and Ursula was lent her name by Audrey ‘Ursula’ Smith, a cryobiologist at King’s College Hospital who discovered the use of glycerol to protect human red blood cells during freezing. Also serving the wider capital from the site is the Cringle Dock solid waste transfer station. This processes around 400,000 tonnes of waste and recyclables per year. The waste is compacted on site and loaded onto barges, after which it is transported to the Energy from Waste (EfW) facility at Belvedere. This is the largest EfW facility in the UK and one of the largest in Europe. The facility will eventually generate up to 72MW of power. The ageing waste transfer plant requires an upgrade, however, to reduce its impact on the local residential and recreational environments. The plans, which were approved earlier this year, will allow for the delivery of waste in a fully enclosed area, rapid unloading and a reduction in long-term storage and consequent odours. Above the site will be a further residential development – shielded from noise and smells of the waste transfer station by its innovative design and technology. The combination of housing, leisure, transport and waste management projects means a great deal of heavy machinery requiring Pirtek’s services.
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