The role of the British Government in the development of the Energy from Waste industry

Deborah Sacks — Waste and Resources Specialist at the UK’s Department for International Trade

Leia em Português.

The key issue in managing waste sustainably is to make the right option the easiest option. There needs to be a reason to manage waste properly, in a way that does not cause environmental harm. Strong regulation and penalties are required to prevent incorrect disposal of waste such as dumping or littering. The must also be an incentive to drive the management of waste up the waste hierarchy ie: to reduce the amount produced, then to recycle it and finally to recover energy.

Recycling waste requires the collection of used materials and sending it for reprocessing into new product. This can be done using a range of equipment or labour-intensive approaches, but the essential element is to capture the material and keep it clean and separate so that the quality of the recyclate is good enough

Energy recovery can be expensive because it requires high level engineering and must include gas clean-up that prevents any emissions to air of pollutants. Government’s role is to put in place regulations and incentives to make this approach worthwhile.

The approach in the UK involves ensuring that that there is good and clear regulation so that householders and businesses are clear how they should manage their waste, and understand that there will be strong penalties if they break the rules. Waste crime is an issue in all countries and the UK has recently created the Waste Compliance Taskforce which promotes adherence to the regulations and helps to tackle waste crime.

In the past, sending waste to landfill was the cheapest option in the UK. Even though these are well-engineered sanitary landfills, they are a source of greenhouse gas emissions and are being phased out. This is being achieved with the introduction of the Landfill Tax, which is a charge levied on each tonne of biodegradable waste sent to landfill. When the Landfill Tax was introduced in 1996, it was levied at £2.65 ($3.75) per tonne. An “escalator” was applied over the years so that the current charge is £96.70 ($136.96) per tonne. This means that it pays to find alternative treatment routes of waste management. This money can be spent on high quality energy from waste facilities that are properly engineered to prevent pollution.

The cost of waste disposal is primarily borne by municipalities which have an obligation to collect and disposed of household waste. This cost in turn is passed on to householders through a property tax collected by councils, that is broadly proportionate to the value of a dwelling. Councils have driven the delivery of energy from waste facilities since they have had to find affordable and sustainable solutions for waste disposal for their communities. The delivery of energy from waste facilities was strongly supported by Central Government through setting up a team known at the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme who advised on contracts, technology and funding. The Government also provided “permission to borrow” for municipalities through the Private Finance Initiative and Public-Private Partnerships.

One was of using energy from waste in countries that have coal-fired power stations, is to process residual waste into “Refuse Derived Fuel” (RDF). This involves shredding and drying out the waste and then co-firing it with coal in power stations or using it as fuel in cement kilns. Adaptations may be needed to prevent air pollution in these facilities, but this is more cost effective than building a new incinerator from scratch.

Now there is an established estate of energy from waste facilities in the UK and attention is turning to how to make them more efficient and carbon-neutral. Making these facilities more efficient through implementing heat off-takes for use in industry or residential areas is being promoted — this can also be used for cooling for data centres or food production which might be more relevant for Brazil.

Close attention is now being given to how to make EfW plants carbon-neutral through carbon capture and storage. The technology for this could be proven within the next two years, and consideration is being given to how this can be paid for and delivered in the most effective way. Currently the carbon capture has no market value and it is the role of Government to introduce a system that gives this a market value so that investment can be made into this new technology.

The next stage in the UK is to take forward projects to convert residual waste to transport fuels or chemicals. This will help decarbonise those sectors where the challenges are greatest.

Learn more about what the British Government in Brazil is working on for renewable energy, visit our page.