The term ‘energy from waste’ (EfW) covers a wide variety of combustion processes that reclaim energy from a waste material feedstock.

It in particular refers to treatment processes that harness the calorific price in waste to generate electrical power or heat. This is then distributed with the rest of our “non-renewable” and “fossil fuel” derived energy.

Using energy which would have been lost if it had been placed in a landfill, EfW energy production methods also serve to cut back the volume and weight of the original waste which will go to landfill, leaving only a small residue that requires disposal. These plants, in the form of incineration plants, are actually capable of reducing the volume of waste by as much as ninety p.c. and the weight by seventy five percent The incineration process is actually just about the most efficient at this, and the ash that’s left may also be made excellent use of in construction materials recycling applications. This ability of incineration to reduce volume and mass, is not nowadays as effective as it once was, when emissions to atmosphere were less strongly regulated. This is due to the need for sophisticated methods to be used to clean up incinerator flue gases before they can be emitted, and the air pollution control systems which provide this function. The air pollution control systems most often used in incineration plants produce waste of their own, which needs further treatment or disposal in a specifically approved “hazardous waste” landfill site.

A number of alternative strategies to incineration have just recently been developed for recovering EfW, including combustion, gasification, pyrolysis and biological processes, e.g. anaerobic digestion and the extraction of landfill gases. The quest continues for better EfW processes which:

- avoid creating polluting gases and toxins in order to reduce the need for costly and energy consuming flue gas clean-up technology
- are highly effective in reducing the volume and mass of the residue
- if not particularly good at reducing volume and mass of the incoming waste, to provide a valuable non-toxic product (e.g. anaerobic digestion produces biogas and a fertilizer).

Despite much work having been done in developing alternative EWfW technologies to incineration the commonest kind of EfW is using incineration technology, and the majority of new capacity (e.g. in the UK) is being installed as incineration processes.

This means burning residual waste ( generally after separation for recycling and composting ) in furnaces and which incorporate a boiler and generator system to supply an electricity output from the steam produced. The heat may be exploited in district heating systems (known as CHP). The technology itself is really flexible, and can process mixed municipal wastes and other waste streams, including clinical and industrial wastes.

Other processes pelletise waste inputs for burning in a refuse derived fuel ( RDF ) plant. The UK Governing Body has outlined RDF as ‘turning the flamable portion of waste, e.g. paper and plastics, into a fuel which can on occasion be stored and transported, or immediately used on site to provide heat and / or power. RDF gives the operator the opportunity to store energy and choose to generate power when it is needed the most – a rare attribute among renewable energy processes.

A key development of EfW has been thru the development of environmental technology and regulation. During the last 20 years the emissions from EfW plants have been seriously reduced thru progressively tighter regulation and improved use of flue gas treatment technologies.

Throughout Europe the older generation of incineration plants have all been closed or upgraded to meet the 1996 EU emissions directive and the further reinforced EC Incineration Directive emission came into effect in 2004.

There are no longer any reasons to hold back any EfW plants due to concerns about gas emissions as the science surrounding what constitute emissions risk to human health are now well known, and the legislation has been set at a level which guarantees the health of all those who work in these plants, or live nearby. The idea of incineration, being simply to burn the materials until there is nothing left to combust has its limitations, especially when other processes can produce useful products, so many would like to see a bigger upatke of the alternative waste technologies, like including combustion, gasification, pyrolysis and biological processes.

Unfortunately, although there’s been a major level of interest in developing new plants which will utilize the ‘emerging ‘ technologies ( pyrolysis, gasification etc.), and basically thes are essential to help the all EU nations meet their duty to reduce their dependance on landfill dumping of waste. EfW plants that handle between ninety thousand and six hundred thousand tonnes of waste every year can produce between 6 and 40MW of electricity.

There was in 2004, enough capacity to provide 203MW of power from UK EfW facilities, which process has a grand total of just about 3,000,000 tons of community solid waste every year. Substantial extra capacity for the has been installed since then, and furthur plants are in the planning stage, with the result that installed capacity has more than doubled and with a similar increase in the power now being generated from previously landfill-dumped municipal industrial and commercial solid waste.

The reason that the more recently developed waste technologies are not being built in bigger numbers lies in their newness meaning that investors find it hard to take on-board the bigger risk from new processes, and which in a recessionary economic period might or might not, in unstable “immature” markets produce essential income from the sale of their products (e.g. compost or say “bio-char”).

All nations should do their utmost to gain as much value from our wastes as practical, instead of continuing historical dependence on landfilling, for the sake of minimising use of finite materials resources and avoiding groundwater pollution. After we have removed as many valuable materials from the waste as feasible, like paper, glass and plastics, the residual waste still contains valuable energy that will replace coal or oil burning.

The United Kingdom lags behind its Western european neighbors in recovering energy from waste, it is pleasant to note the accelerating number of energy from waste facilities now being built and further projects in the pipeline, will soon make the UK one of the leaders in EfW adoption.

It’s a combined heat and power energy from waste (EfW) plant by Earth Tech (Now Aecom), and located at Stallingborough on the Humber bank near Grimsby. This was part of a £21m integrated waste management facility (IWMF) built for Newlincs Development, the waste management contractor for North East Lincolnshire County Council.

Newlincs is a special purpose company which was set up by Cyclerval (UK) and its parent company, TIRU SA, to run the 25-year concession contract for recycling and disposal of the approximate 80,000 tonnes per annum of municipal and domestic waste arising from the 1 60,000 households within the council area.

The EfW plant provides thermal treatment for municipal solid waste (MSW) as part of an integrated waste management scheme for the area, which also includes kerbside collection, community recycling centres, bring sites and green waste composting. The IWMF site at Stallingborough also has provision for composting facilities and a storage depot for recovered materials for onward transport to recycling centres.

Up to 56,000 tonnes of municipal and household waste is processed each year by the plant and there is a condition in the planning consent that limits the waste to be treated at the plant to that arising only from the North East Lincolnshire Council area. Heat output (in the form of high pressure hot water) and approximately 3MW of electrical power is transferred from the EfW plant to a neighbouring industrial process and manufacturing plant. In this way, the facility provides a local solution to the council’s waste recycling and disposal needs while providing a particular benefit to a local manufacturing plant and the wider local community.

In May 2000 Newlincs appointed Earth Tech as the preferred bidder for the design and build contract for the EfW plant. Following the financial closure in December 2001 Earth Tech was awarded the turnkey construction contract for the scheme.

The works forming the EfW plant comprise:

• waste handling – weighbridge, waste pit, overhead cranes and waste chute with provision for waste rotary shear device should this be needed in the future
• waste combuster kiln – a seven tonnes per hour oscillating kiln with hydraulic actuation and feed ram
• boiler – horizontal tube boiler with 36 bar, 363°C output
• flue gas treatment – dry scrubber system with lime and PAC dosing and cleaned gas discharge via a 55m chimney stack
• SNCR/DeNOx system
• steam system – boiler, 36 bar pressure steam system, air-cooled condenser
• turbine generator – multi-stage steam turbine with 3.2MW generator, control panel and turbine bypass
• hot water recovery and transfer system
• ash and clinker handling and materials recovery – conveyor system
• auxiliary combustion system -primary and secondary air fans and ducting, start-up and auxiliary gas burners
• electrical power supply and export (with import potential)
• control system – local PLC control with Scada supervisory system
• plant auxiliaries – compressed air, hydraulics, water demineralisation and boiler chemical water treatment
• site facilities – building services, telephone, CCTV and other building/site services.

The thermal treatment technology for the facility was provided by Cyclerval, based on its oscillating kiln system. This technology is being used with great success on municipal and other waste streams at over 25 sites worldwide, for throughputs between two and 10 tonnes per hour per individual stream. The oscillating kiln differs from the classic rotary kiln in a number of key design details, which improve the functionality of the system and its operating results.

The simple and robust design makes for an economically attractive thermal treatment system with an average availability in excess of 90 percent.

In designing the plant the objective was the delivery of a capital cost-effective plant having the virtues of easy maintainability and a 25-year design life.

Clugston Construction built the civil works to Earth Tech’s design and, as the site is located close to the Humber Estuary with superficial silty/clay deposits at ground level, extensive piling was used over the site and the deep bunker was constructed within a braced sheet pile cofferdam.

The process and mechanical and electrical plant was procured from within Europe and the UK, notably the Cyclerval kiln manufactured in France, the boiler and steam piping system from TEI in the UK, the flue gas treatment system supplied by Seghers Keppel of Belgium, the turbine from Peter Brotherhood, the air-cooled condenser from Hamon in Germany and the conveyors from Robsons in the UK. Electrical installation including switchgear panels was by Lloyd Morris, with the control system software developed by Earth Tech in-house.

For further details see the website of Aecomm http://www.aecom.com .

More recently Aecom has worked with clients CNIM Environmental and Clugstons to deliver complete turnkey construction of a new Energy-from-Waste Facility in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. The new plant incinerates around 28 tonnes per hour of municipal waste, and generates 20 MW of electrical power for internal consumption and export to grid, as well as providing thermal energy for the associated district heating system.

Incineration is a “waste treatment technology that utlises the combustion (burning) of organic materials at high temperatures and in a plentiful supply of air. Incineration and other high temperature waste treatment systems are described as “thermal treatment”.

Incineration of waste materials converts the waste into incinerator bottom ash, flue gases, particulates, and heat, which can in turn be used to generate electric power.

How does an incinerator generate electricity?

The heat from the incinerator generates steam in a boiler, and that steam is then fed into a turbine manufacturing as much as a hundred MW of electricity. A high stack, fan, or steam jet supplied from the boiler provides a draft to feed air into the process. The combustion takes place and the flue gases are cleaned of contaminants before they are dispersed in the atmosphere.

Did you also know that?

All waste incinerators in Europe must now be approved to be permitted to operate, and the owner/operator has to get and keep their licence which can be removed at any point by the Environmental Regulator if the flue gasses emitted surpass the authorized levels.

Incineration with energy recovery is an example of many waste-to-energy ( WtE ) technologies like gasification, plasma arc gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion which are classed as renewable energy helping to reduce climate change. Incineration could also be implemented without energy and materials recovery but this is quite rare in Europe now.

What Will We Do When All the Landfills Get Full?

Well if we do nothing we will suffer from ill health and diseases spread by rotting materials and decay around us once there is nowhere to take the waste.

In numerous areas in many countries the landfill sites are virtually full so that the Council’s waste management staff are contemplating beginning a waste management scheme that may include an incinerator.

We must find alternative ways to get rid of our rubbish without using landfill, otherwise diseases from rats and other decay will happen when the waste has to be left lying around.

Secret to What Mechanical Biological Treatment Plants Do?

They help to minimise waste, segregate waste, and treat it to as far as possible avoid sending organic based Municipal Soild Waste to landfills.

The best Mechanical Biological Treatment Plants Do Not burn the waste.

There many new ideas to discover in the new Waste Technologies. Find out more about what Mechanical Biological Treatment Plants are, plus you will learn about many other types of waste technology. These exciting new technologies will help ensure a sustainable future for society, and the health of future generations.

The climate change phenomenon, its causes and consequences, is now generally accepted and recognised by the international scientific community, governments, the private sector, NGOs and the general population.

It requires a robust response. Solutions must be found that will mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases and help to adapt to its unavoidable consequences. The complexity of the issue requires the acceptance of a common responsibility from both the public and private sector.

The waste industry occupies a unique position as a potential reducer of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As industries and countries worldwide struggle to address their carbon footprint, waste sector activities represent an opportunity for carbon reduction which has yet to be fully exploited.

The waste sector offers a portfolio of proven, practical and cost effective technologies which can contribute to GHG mitigation. When adapted and deployed according to local traditions and needs, they can help secure significant global GHG emission savings.

The transfer of sustainable technology to developing countries is crucial to reducing GHG emissions. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), introduced under the Kyoto protocol, has provided an opportunity for the waste sector to make significant advances towards this goal. However, structural and administrative improvements to the CDM registration process are needed.

Waste policies and regulations can be strong national drivers to reduce GHG emissions.

However, accurate measurement and quantification of GHG emissions is vital in order to set and monitor realistic reduction targets at all levels. Current methodologies form a valuable database for assessment of GHG emissions from waste activities, however, improvements are required to adequately represent the full life-cycle of materials and energy.

Read More ISWA: Waste and Climate Change White Paper.

The United Kingdom (UK) has traditionally used landfill disposal as the main method of waste management. However, it has long been recognised that landfilling is unsustainable due to its long term harmful effects on the environment and public health.

Landfill also places a high long term risk on groundwater quality, which could threaten the availability of clean water for future generations.

Under the European Union (EU) Landfill Directive, and starting in 2006, member nations were required to divert biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfills. The UK has also committed to the EU Renewable Energy Directive, which binds it to sourcing at least 15% of its energy mix from renewables by 2020.

Through the last decade the emphasis was on recycling, and this is still the case, but recycling will only achieve waste diversion up to a point. Therefore, to meet these targets, the UK is developing alternative waste management options as well as planning to achieve considerable deployment of renewables.

Throughout 2009 a number of aspects of UK waste management policy that have been in place for some time came together so that for the first time a genuine shift in the industry could be detected. Investors began to see the wisdom of those that have already anticipated this new vision and have committed to investment in the waste technologies, as many of the smaller more nimbly operators have begun to make profits. Where profit is to be made others will now follow to secure waste contracts for the resource that collected material provides them.

If asked what the single biggest influence on this was during 2009, I would say it as the government’s Landfill Tax escalator policy which meant that for most waste disposers, for the first time, landfill disposal actually became more expensive than recycling. You can argue around the detail here, but I had not before the summer of 2009 witnessed recycling companies able to say they could offer price competitive disposal prices when head to head with the traditional landfill operators.

Another major driving force in UK waste management which is powering the evolution from a disposal problem to a resource optimisation opportunity are the high targets for waste diversion from landfill, and 20 year or longer integrated waste management contracts. These are public/private partnership projects which the UK government is pushing ahead with now in order to achieve those targets.

Here to, we saw a major milestone achieved while the recession was biting the hardest early in 2009. This was the successful planning application, and award of contract, for the £4 billion Greater Manchester Waste PFI Contract, the largest of its kind in Europe, and all built upon stakeholder involvement. However, the Greater Manchester PFI Contract is only the most high profile example of a procurement revolution which probably reached its peak of activity during 2009, and saw similar contracts either largely in place or planned throughout the nation.

The year also saw a number of these projects hit the headlines, and some Energy from Waste schemes being pushed back at planning (Cornwall and Edinburgh for example).

However, the trend continued and accelerated so that for all waste streams and/or locations where re-use or recycling of waste is not viable, energy recovery is being reinforced as the preferred option, with disposal used only as a last resort.

For a long while the major Energy from Waste producer has been from landfills, and it has been landfill gas (LFG) utilisation. However, the relative importance to LFG utilisation as a proportion of total energy from waste production will now be expected to decline.

Each month in the years to come we will see the rollout of new energy from waste (EfW) projects coming on-stream. However, while the adoption of new waste technologies is being supported in the UK by government departments, the perceived high risk for the PFI partnerships, has remained high. 2009 was not good for implementing the more innovative of these.

The increased cautiousness of the banks funding the private element of these projects has come at a very unfortunate time, as it has in my view severely detracted against the bankability of schemes using these new technologies. In fact, 2009 saw the shelving of quite a number of the more adventurous new waste technology options in favour of more traditional incineration technology.

During the year events also reinforced the wisdom of encouraging the use of EfW and other home grown renewable energy source, within the global scene. Most will remember that early in 2009 we saw the deep rationing of natural gas supplies to some European nations which were themselves unconnected with a producer country dispute. This held up supplies during the coldest weather and in a completely arbitrary fashion.

Most now strongly support the benefits of renewable energy for its improved energy supply security, ability to provide climate change mitigation when combined with stiff recycling targets and the highest possible waste diversion, and not least its resource efficiency.

However, good though that may be for waste as an opportunity, the main event of the year was the new found security to the recyclers which came with the attainment of the economic tipping point, whereby landfilling has become more expensive than most forms of main stream recycling activity. From now on the markets in recyclates will operate on a progressively more stable and normal economic basis.

Recycling has always made sense for the environment, but from now on it will also become a natural economically favourable option as well We can also look forward to the future knowing that the landfill tax will rise again in April 2010, taking us further into the new UK era of waste as a resource of opportunity.

Waste management and energy recovery company, Waste Recycling Group (WRG), has entered into an exclusivity agreement with chemical company Solutia UK Limited to build an Energy from Waste facility (EfW) on land at Solutia’s headquarters, off Corporation Road, Newport, South Wales, UK.

The proposal is in response to the requirements of Prosiect Gwyrdd (Project Green), which aims to provide the five local authorities of Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan, Caerphilly, Newport and Monmouthshire with a solution to the long-term management of its municipal waste while reducing the reliance on landfill.

The Project has begun a procurement process, inviting private companies to bid for the contract, offering their own individual solutions to the problem. The complex process is expected to take two years, with Prosiect Gwyrdd discussing companies’ bids with them until the summer of 2011 before announcing a preferred bidder that autumn, and planning for the winning project beginning in 2012.

Modern EfW incineration is an essential part of sustainable waste and resource management strategies. Apart from helping the five councils to meet their waste management targets, the scheme will also offer benefits for the Government’s renewable energy and carbon reduction commitments.

EfW is a safe and effective way of diverting residual municipal waste from landfill and produces valuable and renewable energy by reducing the use of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas for generating power.

Modern, efficient EfW incineration is used extensively across Europe to meet the challenge of driving more value out of waste and resources. Waste policy at European level and in the UK supports the approach of setting high recycling rates together with the use of EfW incineration for the waste that remains after recycling. Currently, EfW plants in Europe can supply 12 million people with electricity and 11 million people with heat.

The scheme being considered by WRG has the potential for supporting a district heating system by using the steam created through the burning of the local municipal waste, and Solutia itself has expressed an interest in receiving electricity and steam generated by the plant once it is up and running.

Solutia has already installed two 2.5-megawatt wind turbines on the site as part of a plan to source its energy needs in ways which will reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and lower its carbon dioxide emissions, and has welcomed the WRG initiative.

“Anything which helps reduce our operating costs in this difficult economic climate will also clearly contribute to the security of employment on the site,” said a spokesperson. “So whilst it is still very early days, there are many good reasons for being excited about the potential of this project.”

WRG aims to submit a planning application in the summer of 2010 for the proposed facility, which would potentially be ready to start operation in 2014. WRG and Solutia are committed to ensuring that there will be full public consultation with local residents, statutory bodies and other interested groups.

Interestingly, we already know that the nation does not intend to go the easiest route toward maximised reduction of Biological Municipal Waste (BMW) sent to landfill by building lots of incinerators. In fact it has limited the proportion of incineration treatment facilities to prevent very many of those being built.

The nation has already seen sweet success in its waste diversion policy, and most importantly, met the current landfill diversion target 18 months early, to the delight of the politicians. Now, it must start driving towards its zero waste target, and must put a wide range of measures in place which must deliver, in a very short space of time.

The targets laid out in the draft plan include 70 percent recycling by 2025, no more than 25 percent of municipal waste going to energy from waste facilities and no more than five percent of waste being landfilled by 2025.

This is truly very challenging, and isn’t going to happen unless every sector of the waste industry and the waste producers get together and al pull together. They must help each other and innovate as they go if the ideal is to become reality.

Zero waste is not new as a concept and has for sure been the goal for Scotland for some years now. The recent launch of the draft Zero Waste Plan serves only to reinforce Scotland’s determination to achieve that ultimate target.

Zero waste does not, we stress, mean the elimination of all waste, but rather the elimination of waste from the unnecessary use of materials, and will include waste prevention, re-use, recycling and sustainable design, to name but a few of the methods in the toolbox.

So far, things are looking good. However, the reports available suggest that in terms of the 40 percent target set for 2010, Scotland was at 34 percent as of March of this year. There is therefore a significant amount to do to make the 2010 and they appreciate that it will be challenging, but it is seen as achievable.

Going onward beyond 2010, the new plan looks beyond municipal waste and turns to those in other sectors. All of them can make a difference.

Since September the Scottish government has been seeking the views of the waste industry through a consultation process on their draft Zero Waste Plan. The consultation publicity makes it clear that the Scottish government wants ideas on how different sectors and waste streams, food waste being a prime example, can have an impact.

With some very hard to meet targets ahead and with a need to look beyond the immediate and obvious sectors and waste streams, finding the ways and means to generate the discussion and new ideas needed is imperative.

So, can it all actually happen? If one looks back 10 years one would have thought such improvements in waste diversion in so short a period would be completely unattainable.

However, there is strong public support for this policy and a Grass Roots willingness to recycle which has been surprisingly strong and growing even more so. Buoyed up by this waste strategies have been getting braver and more ambitious.

Scotland certainly has a lot to talk about during this consultation period, but it is a relatively small country so communication routes are smaller than in larger nations and there may be a greater flexibility not available within governance of larger nations. Scotland will, be followed by England to Zero Waste (with Wales no doubt following a similar track) it has recently been announced by the Labour Government.

As a trail-blazer on this road, Scotland has a lot to give the rest of us too when we follow them later on the same path. But the warning is out that every sector must get involved and needs to do its bit and enable the nation to embark on the journey to zero waste together as one.

Every sector needs to come up with ideas and only they possess the detailed knowledge to make this work. It all comes down to the fact that; it’s not about chasing just one route, it’s about making a difference together – there is no ‘magic bullet’.

Certainly, what the Government has to do, however, is to deliver at pace and to do that it is looking for the solutions that will make the biggest difference in the next four to five years. There are almost “millions” of things that can be done to help by the government and the waste companies throughout the industry. However, only a few will be successful enough to make big differences, so the idea is for the waste professionals to identify the solutions that will make the biggest difference, and make it quickly, and for the government to back those.

Scotland is geared for Zero Waste success, so let us all make it happen!

Global building solutions provider CEMEX is forming a partnership with the Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to produce Climafuel, an renewable fuel derived from waste, for use in cement making at the Rugby cement plant.

Last year, CEMEX submitted applications for permission to build a Climafuel manufacturing plant either at Southam or Malpass Farm in Rugby. Should planning permission be granted by Warwickshire County Council (WCC) at one of these locations, CEMEX’s agreement with WRG means that the plant would be built and operated in partnership with WRG, and the resulting fuel supplied to the cement plant.

This is welcome news as UK MBT Plants are being built which will remain risky investments unless and until a market develops in Refuse Derived Fuel like this SRF. The aim ultimately will be to produce an SRF which will be saleable for use in any boiler, but the Waster understands that for now any SRF in the UK must be classed as a waste still – and that means that stringent Waste/Waste Incineration Directive type rules still apply to the emissions from any site which burns it.

As one of the UK’s leading waste management and energy recovery companies, WRG brings to the partnership the necessary expertise and experience in the manufacture of solid recovered fuel (SRF) from residual household, commercial and industrial waste. The Climafuel plant would utilise mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technology which is widely used in mainland Europe with over 80 operational facilities, mainly in Germany, Italy and Spain. Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC), the Spanish construction and services group and WRG’s parent company, brings a wealth of experience in implementing solutions utilising a range of MBT processes and technologies.

CEMEX has demonstrated the significant benefits the use of Climafuel provides in displacing traditional fossil fuels and reducing emissions. By diverting waste from landfill, the manufacture and use of Climafuel can also help local authorities to meet the stringent targets set by the European Union for reducing the volume of waste going to landfill. The use of Climafuel will further reduce the plant’s consumption of fossil fuels, such as coal, and thereby help to achieve climate change objectives.

If permission for such a plant is granted by WCC, it could make a significant contribution to the county achieving its landfill diversion targets.

Neville Roberts, CEMEX’s Technical Director, commented: “CEMEX had always planned to involve a waste management specialist in this project and in WRG we have one of the leaders in this activity in the UK and Europe. The use of Climafuel represents a ‘win-win’ situation and this new partnership will deliver tangible benefits environmentally and commercially.”

Andy Ryan, WRG’s Development Director, said: “WRG has a strong strategic focus on providing solutions for local authorities as they seek to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill, as well as improving performance on waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.

“This partnership represents an important extension to our offering. Climafuel would be manufactured to CEMEX’s tight specifications and this will produce a solid, clean and non-hazardous alternative fuel which generates valuable energy from material that cannot otherwise be recycled.”

He used his speech at a summit of Local Authorities and the waste industry.

Hilary Benn expounded that in principle we need to reconsider how we view and treat waste in the United Kingdom. Why do we send valuable items like aluminum and food waste to dump them in landfill when we will be able to turn them into new cans and replaceable energy?

Why use more resources than we want to in manufacturing?

The idea is that we must now work in partnership to build a zero waste nation – where we scale back the resources we use, reuse and recycle all that we can and only send to the rubbish heap the things that have no other use for.

“To do this every one of us – state, local authorities, firms and patrons – must do our bit. And we must make this moment the turning point on our journey to eliminate wasteful waste.”

In a morning trip to Earls Court, Mr Benn showed his support for an up to date BSI sustainable event standard which is meant to make sure that the events industry considers the social, business and environmental impacts of their events.

Mr Benn continued : “Using new technologies will help us to re-use things, as an example anaerobic digestion that creates power from food and farm waste. And firms can apply the technology at their fingertips to design inventive products that use less resources or contain recycled materials.

“In a decade’s time seventy five percent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase further. Targeting for zero waste is how we have to think to make us where we want to be.”

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Central authority John Denham added :

“If we continue to send reusable or compostable waste to dump we are missing a major chance to generate heat and energy and missing a chance to turn that waste into money.

We will be able to save planet while keeping cash in resident’s pockets.

I have lately set out ambitions for councils to play a larger role in tackling global warming and thinking more creatively about waste is just a method to unlock that potential.

Setting out the way in which the UK can become a zero waste country where people can do the decent thing with their waste whether at work, home or on the go, Mr Benn related :

* Britain should more than halve the amount of waste going to landfills in the following ten years, and in the new year the government may consult on what re-usable and compostable items should be controlled from rubbish heap and how a ban will work.

* In 10 years time seventy five percent of household waste will either be recycled or used for energy, and over time this figure will increase even further.

* 6 new Zero Waste Places in parts of Shropshire, Dorchester, Brixton, Newham, Hoxton and Suffolk will be made to develop cutting edge concepts to cut waste in the home, workplace and community.

* A new Zero Waste Places Standard for Local Authorities will also recognize areas which are going above and beyond national waste targets while supporting them with little grants for further development.

* New research out today shows it is possible to steer 500k tons of household waste every year thru re-using it.

* Later on this month a new public campaign will be launched, directed at inspiring folk to reconsider their approach to waste by reducing and reusing the waste they create as well continuing to reuse as much as they can.

* The govt expects Local Authorities to supply a full collection service for all recyclable items by 2020. This should include paper, card, cans, glass and plastic bottles, food and packing.

We’ll encourage Local Authorities in picking up food waste to employ the technology and funding open to them to manage the power of energy from waste.

* Publication of our aims and actions for Commercial and Commercial Waste in Britain .

This can help enterprises to use resources better and inspire them to consider what they do with their waste as well as delivering advantages for the environment.

Actions cover four areas : helping business ; working with the waste management industry ; plugging the information opening ; and inspiring cutting edge approaches.

Waste management firm Viridor has expressed its disappointment at East Lothian council’s decision to reject planning permission for its Dunbar combined heat and power plant despite “strong recommendation” for approval from the council’s planning officers.

East Lothian’s planning committee yesterday (September 1) voted unanimously against the company’s proposal to build a 300,000 tonnes-a-year capacity energy-from-waste facility on land at its existing Oxwellmains landfill site, which lies 40km east of Edinburgh.

Another EfW Plant Rejected

This was despite the planning documents containing a recommendation from planning officers to approve the project subject to a number of conditions – including beginning operations within three years of approval being granted.

The spokesman said that, under new planning controls, the councillors would now have a “few weeks” to formulate a document outlining the reasons why they refused permission.

Commenting on the rejection, Steve Don, Viridor’s Scottish regional manager, said: “Despite a recognition of need, SEPA describing the proposal as the ‘best practical environmental option’ and a strong recommendation for approval from East Lothian council professional officers, Viridor is disappointed that councillors chose to refuse our application.

Proposal
Under the proposal, the Dunbar facility would have been used to process 150,000 tonnes-a-year of municipal residual waste collected from Edinburgh and East and Mid-Lothian councils, and 150,000 tonnes-a-year of commercial and industrial residual waste from the surrounding region.

Viridor had previously revised its planning application for the proposed Dunbar facility in May 2008 following a public consultation, which saw its initial 450,000 tonne-a-year capacity proposal scaled-down to “reflect local need” (see letsrecycle.com story).

Mr Don added: “With ambitious Scottish and European Zero Waste targets we need both increased recycling and smarter ways of managing residual waste. Whilst this decision will inevitably delay our journey to sustainability, we will be reviewing in due course.”

The spokesman for East Lothian said that he expected Viridor to appeal against the decision, which would “probably be subject to a public inquiry”. More here.