Memorandum submitted by Sheffield City
Council (X7)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council feels that it is particularly
important that Government Policy is not so prescriptive that it
removes the ability of local authorities to adopt appropriate
strategies for their locality.
The Council fully supports the waste hierarchy
save that it ranks waste incineration with energy and heat recovery
above other technologies and believes that there is a viable balance
between the use of waste as a resource and recycling.
The Council strongly believes that there needs
to be a recognition of investment in waste treatment such as that
made by Sheffield where such investment will lead to a demonstrable
diversion from landfill.
The Council will see costs increase as a result
of the separation of hazardous waste and is concerned that the
introduction of the new system prohibiting co disposal was badly
planned and could lead to future problems when separated waste
is linked to the introduction of the WEEE Directive.
BACKGROUND
Sheffield produces some 240,000 tonnes of domestic
waste of which 68% is deemed to be organic in nature.
The City Council has made a substantial investment
in waste treatment and in meeting government targets for recycling.
In 1969 the Council built an incinerator for burning waste. In
1974 this was modified to incorporate energy recovery. Some 43
km. of heating main have been laid below Sheffield's streets to
provide heating to some 42 major buildings including the Town
Hall, offices, University, housing and schools.
The energy from waste plant also converts spare
heat into electricity, which is sold through a Non Fossil Fuel
Obligation (NOFFO) agreement.
The old incinerator had its problems and to
overcome these difficulties but also seeing the potential value
of collaboration with the private sector, Sheffield entered into
a long term, 30 year, contract with Onyx to manage all of its
domestic waste and construct a new energy from waste plant.
The new plant will be fully compliant with the
rigorous Waste Incineration Directive and will come on stream
in 2006. Meanwhile the current plant has been improved and is
managed to a high standard by Onyx.
In conjunction with developing energy from waste
the Council has improved its recycling performance from less than
5% to an out-turn of 12.2% in 2003-04, bettering its statutory
target of 10%. The next milestone is the statutory target of 18%
by 2005-06 and the City has set a goal of 21% for this date with
an interim target of 17% for 2004-05.
To accomplish this, the City's five recycling
sites (civic amenity) have been refurbished and are achieving
a recycling rate of 50%. There are 110 bring sites with more being
planned. The major impact on recycling performance has been the
introduction of some 190,000 blue, 140 litre bins for paper and
card collection. This initiative was rolled out to all households
in just eight months between April and November 2003. To support
the "blue bin" scheme a purpose built materials recycling
facility has been constructed which will handle some 20,000 tonnes
of paper and card this year.
In September the Council introduced 30,000 green,
240 litre bins for green waste with a further 15,000 to go out
in April 2005. This will divert a further 6,000 tonnes of organic
waste from landfill and is supported by a composting network of
nine sites operated by the voluntary sector, an on farm composting
operation and a large scale composting initiative from the private
sector which also offers community benefit.
Through these measures and a further rollout
of the green waste scheme the Council intends to reach 30% recycling
by 2010, most of which will be organic waste.
FINANCIAL AND
INVESTMENT CONSIDERATIONS
The background to Sheffield's plans and its
partnership with Onyx demonstrates the necessity for long term
planning. We have taken waste and turned it into an asset that
will enable the City to realise a financial benefit from use of
the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme, which will support the
continuation of the plan. By 2010 less than 10% of Sheffield's
waste will be going to landfill.
Such measures must be adequately funded. The
introduction of the green waste scheme with DEFRA grant for the
first two years will cost some £800,000 per year to run,
with further roll outs multiplying this figure.
The City strongly feels that it should be recognised
for its forward planning and sound management, which will enable
it to support the government's landfill targets through performance
driven landfill trading.
The Council believes that it is only by the
balancing of technology with recycling and waste minimisation
can the UK hit its landfill reduction targets. We believe that
many authorities may be starting too late and that it will be
necessary to fall back on tried and trusted technologies such
as incineration with energy recovery if the UK is to achieve its
obligations.
COMPARATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Recent reports have shown that state of the
art incinerators with energy recovery will be a safe, cost effective
way of meeting landfill diversion targets. The experience of other
countries appears to show that a balance of incineration with
waste minimisation and recycling can deliver the required results.
Other technologies are much less certain. Mechanical
biological Treatment, for example, is unproven in the UK with
pilot schemes just now being introduced. It is hard to see how
the treatment of waste using energy to produce a possible fuel,
which is subsequently transported to other facilities where it
is burnt, is a better environmental or cost option than local
incineration. If one were to be cynical it could be seen that
some of the outlets for refuse derived fuel such as cement kilns
might make a reasonable income from importing such fuel to be
burnt in a process which is no better and possibly not as stringent
as a purpose built waste incinerator designed for the task.
It is also clearly unfair not to classify materials
recovered post incineration such as cans and metals or use of
ash for building materials as recycling, since none of this material
goes to landfill.
Most EC countries have recognised that the goal
is landfill diversion and this drives their policies. Not so the
UK government which instead adopts a hierarchic approach putting
recycling as a main priority, not only for organic but for all
waste. Whilst the City Council would always wish to follow the
waste hierarchy we are concerned with this skewed approach to
policy. The setting of recycling targets is seen as the zenith
of achievement, ignoring, it seems, the fact that by balancing
recycling with the use of waste for energy recovery it is possible
to virtually eliminate landfill.
The Council does accept that a small proportion
of the waste burnt remains as hazardous waste to go to landfill
but as it is now evident that large fractions of untreated domestic
waste will be classed as hazardous once separated this does not
pose an unmanageable problem.
The Council would, therefore, wish to propose
a new emphasis on landfill diversion as a key indicator of success.
To achieve this there needs to be recognition that policies such
as that adopted by Sheffield with a balance of waste management
should be supported and that the use of waste as a means of generating
energy can be as important as the drive for recycling.
HAZARDOUS WASTE
Whilst this evidence has concentrated mostly
on landfill, the Council is not satisfied that the issues of hazardous
waste have been properly managed leading to a situation where
there will be a major escalation in costs unless suitable facilities
are brought on line to deal with such waste.
As part of the Council's function is dealing
with abandoned cars, we experienced the problem at first hand
when scrap dealers refused to accept cars when their components
were classified hazardous and there was no available outlet. It
is now clear that the Country was ill prepared for the introduction
of the new rules from July 2004 and it remains unclear what will
be the long term costs stemming from this mismanagement.
As more waste becomes classified and the impact
of the WEEE Directive is felt, there is a real danger that once
again the local authorities will be caught in the middle of an
under funded, ill thought out scheme where we are expected to
provide facilities with scant recognition of the operational and
logistics of managing domestic waste.
SUMMARY
In summary, the Council believes it has demonstrated
that a practical way of meeting landfill targets is by a combination
of incineration with energy recovery and recycling. This strategy
requires long-term planning and investment and this needs to be
recognised for those authorities such as Sheffield who have committed
to such measures.
Government policies should concentrate more
on the output measures of successful landfill diversion and less
on the input measures of recycling as key indicators of success.
Local actions need to be backed by strong national
policies to reduce waste led by government and supported at local
level by education and campaigning.
Sheffield can help to shape regional and national
policy by acting as an example of best practice in the field of
waste management.
7 October 2004
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