Energy from Waste (EfW)
Energy from Waste
Aberdeen City Council are in the process of developing an Energy from Waste (EfW) Plant as a means of residual waste treatment.
The EfW will receive waste direct from both Aberdeenshire and Moray Council via their Waste Transfer Station network (WTS). These transfer stations are used to bulk the waste for transfer to the EfW, minimising waste vehicle movements through the respective counties.
How We Got Here
Recent changes to waste management legislation are leading to an increased demand for segregation of recyclable materials and will eventually lead to a ban on Landfill as a disposal option for biodegradable waste. These changes are taking place at the same time as the landfill capacity within Scotland and in particular the North East is running out and leading to an increased need for Energy from Waste as a treatment option.
All EfW facilities are subject to a lengthy planning process which entails a complex, thorough and robust procurement process to ensure best value. Further details of the planning stages can be found here.
Recycling Rates in Moray
Moray currently has a recycling rate of nearly 60% (2014/15), a rate which is above the national average, however the County still paid around £ 1.2million in 2013 to dispose of waste to landfill. The Waste(Scotland) Regulations 2012 require Moray Council to increase the recycling rate and has set targets for the coming years.
The key proposals in the Regulations are:
• a requirement to remove key recyclables (plastics and metals) from mixed waste prior to incineration (from 1 July 2012); a requirement for businesses to present dry recyclables (metals, plastics, paper, card and glass) and food waste of more than 50 kg/week for collection from the end of 2013, with those producing less than 50kg/week exempt until the end of 2015;
• a requirement on local authorities to provide householders with a collection service for dry recyclables (end of 2013) and food waste (end of 2015);
• a ban on materials collected separately for recycling going to landfill or incineration (end of 2013); and
• a ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill, thus helping to substantially reduce harmful emissions of methane (end of 2020).
However the increase in landfill tax means that even after this increase and corresponding reduction in waste sent to landfill, if alternative ways to manage the waste were not found, the Council would still be paying millions of pounds in tax a year to dispose of our residual waste at landfill.
This is a significant amount of money, which could be better used to protect some of the services we provide to our community.