Silvertown has been victim to engineered artificial landscapes for centuries. Because wetlands provide no financial benefits, industry has been the main purpose for this landscape's use and abuse. Over several centuries, large amounts of earth was either dug out or deposited in Silvertown for its transformations.Today, the construction, destruction and excavation for the Crossrail in the area produces about 400 000 m3 of excess material that is to be disposed of at Pitsea landfill. The UK dumps more waste into landfills than any other country in the EU and about a third of this is construction waste. As a result, by 2018, landfill space will run out. By altering the waste stream, this material is processed, sorted, recycled and remixed in Silvertown to retransform the landscape. Silvertown becomes a testing ground for the recycling of this material. New links are created and derelict spaces remodeled during Crossrail's construction as a by-product of this large infrastructure project: the city is transformed from within.
