Encyclis acquires remaining 20% of Rookery Energy-from-Waste plant from Veolia UK
In the UK, Encyclis has announced the acquisition of Veolia UK’s 20% ownership stake in Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility (ERF), in Bedfordshire. The acquisition means Encyclis has full ownership of all four Energy-from-Waste facilities in its core fleet in central England. In 2025, Encyclis took full ownership of Newhurst ERF, in Leicestershire, and Protos ERF, in Cheshire, after acquiring the shares previously held by Biffa. Walsall ERF, under construction in the West Midlands, is also wholly owned.
Full ownership allows Encyclis to operate Rookery South, Newhurst, Protos and Walsall as a single integrated fleet, sharing engineering and operational expertise across sites and recovering metals and secondary aggregates through the company’s Wellingborough bottom ash processing plant. For waste suppliers, the integrated fleet provides a more flexible and resilient service, including the ability to redirect waste between facilities during planned maintenance, and establishing a single point of contact across the region.
Rookery South ERF is one of the largest and most modern Energy-from-Waste facilities in the UK, with capacity to process up to 657,000 tonnes of residual, non-recyclable waste per year, generating 60MW of reliable baseload electricity and recovering secondary aggregates and metals in support of the circular economy transition. The site is also home to one of the UK’s first carbon capture pilot plants in the waste sector and secured planning permission in December 2025 for a full-scale carbon capture facility.
The facility, which occupies a former clay extraction pit near Bedford, was developed as a joint venture between Encyclis and Veolia UK. It began commercial operations in January 2022, with Encyclis as majority owner and operator, and Veolia as the facility’s main supplier of waste, a role which it will retain following the acquisition.
Category: Fuels
