TJ Waste & Recycling has applied to triple the permitted annual capacity of its waste transfer station in West Sussex, citing additional demand from local authorities due to Simpler Recycling legislation.
The company has submitted an application to the Environment Agency to increase the permitted throughput at its Yapton plant from 25,000 tonnes to 75,000 tonnes a year.
The proposals also include doubling the site’s storage capacity from 1,000 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes and extending its permitted boundary to accommodate the additional operations.
In the application, the company explained that “since the introduction of Simpler Recycling, Local Authorities are required to provide separate collections for recyclables, food waste and residual waste. This waste will be stored and transferred only. The additional land is required to accommodate this use.”
Site Operations
The Yapton facility, at Northwood Farm on Burndell Road, is an established waste recycling and transfer station handling household, commercial and industrial waste.
Existing activities include sorting, screening, baling and compaction, with materials separated using mechanical equipment including a trommel screen, picking station, conveyors and magnets.
TJ Waste plans to use a recently constructed second building to receive, treat and store waste from its collection business, while the existing building would provide storage for mixed commercial and industrial waste and food waste collected by or on behalf of local authorities.
The company is also seeking permission to accept additional mixed residual waste from other treatment facilities, allowing materials including plastics, wood, metal, paper and cardboard to undergo further sorting to recover recyclable material. Remaining waste could be used to produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF).
Council Contracts
TJ already has a relationship with several local authorities in West Sussex.
In January 2026, it was awarded a £50,000 contract to handle biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste for Adur District Council, Worthing Borough Council and Chichester District Council. The contract began in February and has an initial two-year term.
The company has also established a food waste drop-off point at Yapton through a partnership with Eco Sustainable Solutions. Food waste delivered by third-party operators, including local authorities and commercial contractors, is transported to Eco’s anaerobic digestion facility in Dorset.
Capacity Pressures
The proposed expansion comes amid wider pressure on waste transfer infrastructure in West Sussex as councils prepare for separate collections of recyclable materials, food waste and residual waste under Simpler Recycling.
In a separate planning application submitted in January 2026, TJ said it had been approached by West Sussex County Council to receive waste collected by Chichester and Arun district councils.
The county council had concluded that its existing Chichester waste transfer station would not be able to accommodate the anticipated changes to household waste collections.
It identified TJ’s Yapton facility as a solution to the capacity shortfall, stating there was no viable alternative facility available to receive the waste.
The need for additional sorting capacity comes against a backdrop of changing household waste collection arrangements across the area. Arun District Council introduced weekly food waste collections in April 2026, alongside a move to fortnightly general waste collections. Chichester District Council has also introduced separate weekly food waste collections, while retaining its existing fortnightly residual waste and recycling services.
These changes mean more material is being collected separately and require additional capacity across the local waste management infrastructure. In particular, the introduction of new food waste streams and changes to household recycling arrangements place greater demands on the facilities responsible for receiving, handling and sorting collected material.
The proposed expansion at Yapton would therefore provide additional capacity to manage these changing waste flows, helping to ensure material collected under local authority contracts can be processed efficiently as collection arrangements evolve.