31.07.13
Waste has ‘valuable’ potential as energy source
The Chartered Institute of Wastes Management (CIWM) has called for Government to take greater account of the possibilities around generating energy from waste.
A new report states an improved regulatory framework is needed for refuse-derived fuel (RDF), which is currently constrained by a lack of clarity on quality thresholds. Both RDF and solid recovered fuel (SRF) could be used to meet renewable energy targets and to help minimise the risk of blackouts from insufficient power production.
Margaret Bates, chair of the CIWM’s Scientific & Technical Committee, said: “This work raises a number of important questions about the long term viability of this export trade in the context of broader strategic objectives with regard to waste, resources and energy, as well as concerns about current practices and the need for a robust regulatory approach.”
CIWM chief executive Steve Lee said: “In the short term, CIWM believes that a more rigorous and consistent enforcement framework needs to be put in place, and further work done to assess the viability of developing a classification system or minimum pre-treatment standard for RDF. In addition to ensuring that illegal activities are curbed, we believe this is an essential measure to ensure that valuable material resources are not being lost to the domestic reprocessing industry and the UK/Irish economy as a whole.
“In the longer term, while accepting that legitimate market forces are driving this material abroad, CIWM believes that we need to better understand and quantify the extent to which this trade could compromise investment in domestic infrastructure and the UK and Ireland’s ability to fulfil their obligations with regard to moving waste up the hierarchy and moving towards a more resource efficient and circular economy.”
He warned that the lack of a long-term strategy to use residual waste as a domestic energy source means potential is being “squandered”.
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