ENERGY
Dispelling the incineration myth
With a host of sophisticated waste technologies, Jon Swan of engineering consultancy, Atkins,
argues for a broad range of solutions to meet the UK government’s renewable energy objectives.
ECYCLING REMAINS, third of UK households now recycle "as a way energy from waste solutions. Under the RO,
R
rightly, at the heart of the of life". power companies are obliged to provide
government’s waste and One of WRAP’s eye-catching statistics is a specifi ed percentage of electricity from
greenhouse gas (GHG) that the 8.6 million tonnes of paper the UK renewable sources. The current level is 9.1%
reduction strategy. The 2007 recycled here and abroad last year has saved for 2008/09 rising to 15.4% by 2015/16.
Waste Strategy for England dictates that waste the equivalent of 11 million tonnes of CO
2
Companies can earn renewable obligation
to landfi ll should be reduced to 25% by 2020, emissions - comparable to taking 3.6 million credits (ROCs) by using different categories
with recycling increasing to 50%. In addition, cars off the road. of clean energy. Under the revised rules, EfW
the government has also now revised local Up to now, there has been less agreement with combined heat and power (CHP) will
authority indicators to include reductions in on the other major component of the Waste qualify for one ROC. And the advanced EfW
CO
2
per capita as a key performance indicator. Strategy for England increasing energy from techniques such as gasifi cation or pyrolysis
This change focuses minds when deciding waste (EfW) to 25% by 2020. It’s clear will earn two credits. We are already seeing
on and procuring a preferred waste strategy across all aspects of government policy that plans for EfW gasifi cation facilities starting to
route or technology. Despite a fl urry of recent reclaiming energy from waste is the preferred appear in certain parts of the UK.
negative media reports at the start of this year, solution to landfi ll when recycling and So far so good. But the hard facts are that
all the evidence suggests that recycling is likely composting is not an option. the UK is falling further behind its European
to be the best environmental option for saving neighbours in its ability to reclaim energy from
energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and
Get your ROCs off
waste material it is not able to recycle.
more effi cient use of raw materials. In 2009, there are more incentives to expand In the UK, only about 10% of municipal
And we have made signifi cant progress on EfW with the introduction to Parliament of the waste is used for energy recovery - almost
recycling in the UK. As Dr Liz Goodwin, the government’s revised Renewables Obligation all of it through combustion techniques
chief executive of WRAP, said recently, two (RO), which gives a much greater role to (usually labelled incorrectly as incineration).
24 SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS April 2009
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