SUEZ to contribute at our 'Infrastructure 2026' forum this week

Image: Stuart Hayward-Higham courtesy of SUEZ.

Future Cities Forum welcomes SUEZ's Chief technical development and innovation officer, Stuart Hayward-Higham, to our 'Infrastructure 2026' discussion event hosted at the London studio of Grimshaw this week.

Stuart is currently responsible for a range of strategy, policy, commercial and innovation development activities for SUEZ UK. He works across the whole value chain from collection to end of waste in SUEZ and across the value chain from working on how design influences waste outcomes to new products from waste such as repaired and reused items to fuels and chemicals from residual waste.

He uses data to help define and deliver waste prevention, reuse, circular and sustainable solutions, carbon or resource consumption reduction and insight for improvement across the full value chain.

Stuart has over 30 years’ of experience in the environmental, resource and waste industry and has amassed wide technical and commercial skills and experience in the systems of management, markets, strategy, technologies and the environment.

SUEZ has recently celebrated a major operational milestone after sending its 250,000th container of residual waste by rail from Kirkby rail transfer loading station (RTLS) in Merseyside.

This landmark highlights the scale of the partnership between SUEZ and Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA), which manages residual household waste from across Merseyside and Halton.

At the facility in Kirkby, residual waste is compacted into containers before being transported by train to the Wilton energy-from-waste facility in Teesside, where it is used to generate electricity for the National Grid, providing enough electricity to power over 63,000 homes.

Since contract start in 2016, the RTLS has handled over 3.52 million tonnes of residual waste, with more than 5000 train journeys transporting containers safely and efficiently from Merseyside to Teesside. Each train can carry 66 containers, helping move large volumes of waste in a single journey, while significantly reducing the number of heavy goods vehicles required on the road network.

In further news, community groups and organisations across Doncaster are being invited to apply for funding to support projects that improve green spaces, support nature, and help communities take greater care of their local environment.

The fund is delivered by SUEZ, who provide waste and recycling collections for over 150,000 homes and businesses in the borough on behalf of City of Doncaster Council. As part of its waste management responsibilities, SUEZ collects small electrical items at the kerbside.

The proceeds from these collections provides the funding to enable the company to reinvest in community projects which benefit the area. The greater the volume of items collected, the more resources are available to support local initiatives.

Grants of up to £1,000 are available for a wide range of projects including improvements to parks and shared spaces, tree planting and habitat improvement, community clean-up initiatives, and activities that encourage people to get involved in environmental action.