The search is on to find Merton’s greenest building as nominations open for the 2009 Green Guardian Awards.

Architects might be getting increasingly savvy to the concept of sustainable design, but this year’s winner will be hard pushed to match the green credentials of last year’s outstanding entry.

Mitcham Eastfields station, one of the world’s first fully modular railway stations, was built almost entirely from recycled materials and pioneers cutting-edge environmental design.

Energy use at the first suburban railway station to be built in London since World War II is kept to a minimum and features solar panels and wind power systems. An extensive rainwater harvesting system also contributes to the almost entirely sustainable makeup of the building.

But perhaps most importantly, the station which opened a year ago, has allowed thousands of Mitcham residents to ditch their cars in favour of public transport.

Pip Howson from Merton’s planning department said: “The station exceeded expectations of use within just a week.

“This has given so many people a green way of getting to work when before they didn’t think they had a way of getting to work.”

Nominations have opened for all the categories making up this year’s Green Guardian Awards. Merton’s best entries in the fields of green business, school and college, group, building and individual green champion will go through to a stunning south London final in February.

The awards now run across 11 London boroughs an are widely recognised and respected with projects finding partners, companies winning customers and organisations gaining the oxygen of publicity.

• Find out about more local green groups at greenguardian.co.uk