MAIN FEATURE
close to FOG sources.
“Our model of placing an EcoClarity recovery hub at a wastewater treatment site, within one-hour’s drive for the hauliers, means that they benefit by completing more trips per day, and generating greater revenue,” said Clemes.
Circular economy
For some stakeholders, diesel cars and trucks can be run on fuel generated from the FOG waste produced in their own businesses. EcoClarity and Southern Water plan to launch this service in 2024. It could also be used for city buses and similar schemes already existing in parts of Europe and the US.
According to a report from bioeconomy consultancy NNCFF, disposal is still the most common means of managing both domestic and commercial FOG waste. However, the authors say there is huge potential associated with managing this material in a more sustainable way through energy recovery and recycling into new products and substances.
A wide range of applications could, with technical and logistical development, reuse and create value from FOG, but this is dependent on variables including size of market, available processes and facilities, and the volumes of FOG available.
Some 500,000 tonnes of FOG are estimated to be lost to the UK’s sewer system annually, according to the NNCFF report, with the total volume of FOG collected estimated to be in the region of 105,000 tonnes. The total volume of collectable FOG in the UK could be in the region of 100,000-400,000 tonnes per year.
Flush with success - scheme means cleaner
sewers As the award-winning Fine to Flush scheme comes to an end in February 2024, Peter Henley, principal consultant, WRc looks back at its development and the transformational impact it has had on sewer system operators, the wet wipe industry, the public, and the natural environment.
Pre-2019, millions of pounds were spent annually in the UK on pollution events due to sewer blockages, sewer flooding and pump failures – a cost which has inevitably been passed on to the consumer. Research carried out in 2017 (Drinkwater & Moy) showed that 93% of these blockages were caused by improper disposal of billions of plastic-containing, non-flushable wet wipes, costing an estimated £100 million to clear them.
Not only were pre-2019 wet wipes the major cause of blockages and huge expense, but they also contained plastics, specifically polyester fibres such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP). These plastics can take 100+ years to decompose in sewers and landfill and on beaches and riverbeds, as well as releasing microplastics into the wider
10
environment during their journey through the sewerage system.
In 2019, there was no clear policy solution to solve the damaging wet wipe problem. However, together with Water UK, WRc (Water Research Centre), who has been at the forefront of ‘flushability’ research for several years, created the Fine to Flush standard – or Water Industry Specification 4-02-06 – the only standard in the UK for ‘flushable’ products.
Fine to Flush is a rigorous seven-step testing methodology developed by WRc. The tests accurately mimic the forces found in the flows of a sewer to ensure products disintegrate sufficiently in an agreed travel time.
Products that meet this standard contain no plastic and degrade in the same was as toilet paper. In addition, the wipe must travel through the system without snagging and causing blockages through the formation of fat, oil and grease (FOG) traps.
Certifications awarded
Manufacturers and retailers of wet wipes were the natural target in the campaign to reduce wet wipe induced blockages through the F2F scheme. Over the following four years, over 140 F2F certifications were awarded to wet wipe manufacturers and retailers retailing on the UK market, including Kimberley- Clark, Aldi, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Asda and Waitrose. That amounts to billions of wipes that have been safely flushed and do not contain plastic.
In 2021, the success of the F2F scheme was recognised by the Water Industry Awards in the category for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Improvement.
Tesco group quality director Sarah Bradbury commented in 2022, “There is no need for wet wipes to contain plastic, so from now on we will no longer stock them if they do.”
In addition to being plastic-free, Tesco’s moist toilet tissue wipes were certified and labelled as ‘Fine to Flush’ and non- flushable wipes clearly labelled as ‘Do Not Flush’.
| December 2023 |
www.draintraderltd.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
