Are we building too many incinerators just as waste policy is designed to reduce the feedstock?
If residual
waste is expected to fall significantly over the next two decades, it raises the
uncomfortable question - why are we still building so many new incinerators?
Current industry reporting suggests that the UK
already has 63 operational EfW plants, with 13 more under construction whilst at
the same time, government policy is attempting to reduce the amount of residual
waste entering the system through a series of major reforms.
Those reforms include:
- Simpler Recycling, which standardises recycling
collections.
- Extended Producer Responsibility, which makes packaging producers pay the
full cost of managing their waste.
- Deposit Return Scheme, designed to capture drinks containers
before they reach residual waste.
- Digital Waste Tracking, which will improve regulatory oversight
of waste flows.
- And now the inclusion of
energy-from-waste within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Each of these policies is designed to reduce
residual waste over time and taken together, they represent the most
significant attempt in decades to move the UK towards a more circular economy.
The addition of Emissions Trading Scheme costs to
waste incineration changes the financial landscape again. Once EfW facilities
must purchase carbon allowances for their emissions, the cost of burning waste
will rise which in turn creates a stronger incentive to reduce residual waste, increase
recycling and divert materials further up the waste hierarchy
Basically, the policy direction is clearly aimed at
reducing the feedstock that EfW plants rely on and this is where the tension
emerges. Building large-scale EfW facilities requires long investment horizons;
typically, 25 to 30 years but the policies now being introduced are designed to
shrink the residual waste stream over that same period.
Are we at risk of building too much incineration
capacity just as the system is being redesigned to produce less waste to burn?
If the UK succeeds in driving residual waste down towards 10 million
tonnes per year, the country will only need roughly 25 to 33 EfW plants, depending
on plant size and we already have 63 operating facilities, with thirteen more
still coming online.
The danger therefore may not be a shortage of
incineration capacity. It may be building too much of it before the full
effects of recycling and carbon policy have had time to work. More like this (legislation) - link - more like this (incineration) - link