A London company founded in 1896 that moves the capital's non-recyclable waste by barge along the Thames and turns it into electricity at its Riverside energy-from-waste plant in Belvedere.
Cory is a waste and recycling company with a very particular way of working: it uses the River Thames as its main road. Barges pulled by tugs carry London's household and business waste that cannot be recycled to Cory's Riverside 1 energy-from-waste plant in Belvedere, where it is burned to make electricity instead of being buried in landfill. According to Wikipedia, Riverside 1 processed 782,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste in 2021. Cory also runs recycling sorting sites in Wandsworth and Barking, a site at the Port of Tilbury that handles the ash left over from burning waste, and ship repair yards in Charlton and Gravesend that keep its own fleet working.
Cory was incorporated as William Cory & Son in 1896 and began by shipping coal on the Thames. Over the decades its river skills moved from carrying fuel to carrying waste and building materials, and it became known as Cory Environmental, then Cory Riverside Energy, and since 2021 simply Cory. We did not find a short written mission statement. In its 125th anniversary article, chief executive Dougie Sutherland described the company as serving "our country and communities", and said it is changing to meet the challenge of a fast-decarbonising economy. Cory also calls the river a "green highway", and says its river operations take about 100,000 lorry journeys off London's roads each year.
Cory's footprint runs along the Thames. Wikipedia lists five waste transfer stations with river access serving eight London boroughs, recycling facilities in Wandsworth and Barking, and sites stretching from Wandsworth in the west to Gravesend in the east. Its head office is in the City of London, at Dominion Street. It has also been building Riverside 2, a second energy-from-waste facility next to the first, and is developing a heat network at Belvedere.
On people and culture, the company says its people are "at the core of our business". Its anniversary article says many staff are second or third generation Cory employees, and that two employees with more than 40 years of service were given the chance to name new barges. A 2019 television documentary, The Secret World of Your Rubbish, followed a father and son who work in its river operations. These are the company's own descriptions of itself, but they suggest a place where long service is valued and where practical, outdoor work sits alongside office roles.
The kinds of work at a company like Cory are wide. On the water there are tug and barge crews and marine engineers. At the plants there are operators, engineers and electricians who keep the energy-from-waste process running safely. Behind them are people in logistics, environmental compliance, health and safety, planning and community engagement, plus finance, commercial and human resources teams. If you like boats, engineering, or the idea of solving a big city's rubbish problem, it is a company worth knowing about.
Website: www.corygroup.co.uk
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