Conservative MP Robert Courts visited the Sheehan Group to discover how the company is leading the way on recycling in the county.
Mr Courts was joined by Nicholas Field-Johnson, Head of Development at Oxford University for a tour of the Sheehan Group’s advanced recycling plant in Oxford.
The water treatment facility is used to wash construction and demolition waste, destined for landfill, turning it into reusable aggregate. In the past five years The Sheehan Group, a construction and recycling company, has saved 500,000 tonnes of waste from UK landfill sites via the plant. Half of the recycled material is used in its own construction projects and the rest is sold to contractors.
Witney MP, Mr Courts said: “I was delighted to meet everyone at Sheehan Group to visit their plant and learn more about their important work. Instead of shipping waste abroad or putting it into landfill we need to find innovative and sustainable ways to reuse it. Sheehan are leading the way in this area and I am delighted to have such a pioneering company based here in West Oxfordshire.”
Chris Sheehan, Managing Director, of the Sheehan Group, said: “Recycling and sustainable construction is crucial for the UK and it is at the heart of our strategy and values as a business.
“It is important politicians and key decision makers understand the importance of what we are doing and the scope there is to make construction in Oxfordshire much more sustainable. It was a pleasure to show Mr Courts and Mr Field-Johnson around our facility and to receive such enthusiasm for what we are doing.”
The company is due to appeal an Oxfordshire County Council planning decision that refused permission to increase operational capacity at the plant from 100,000 tonnes to 175,000 tonnes per year.
Mr Field-Johnson joined Mr Court’s visit as part of the Sheehan Group’s relationship with Oxford University. The Sheehan Group has fully funded a scholar on the Master’s in Sustainable Urban Development course.
Tara Sheehan, Finance Director of the Sheehan Group, said: “We are thankful to Mr Courts and Mr Field-Johnson taking the time to come and discover what we do as a company and the difference we are making both environmentally and economically.
“Our plant is the only one of its kind in the county and serves such an important function.”