The confederation of European WTE plants (CEWEP) held its presidency elections earlier this year on 14 September, to decide which of its candiates would hold the posts of president and deputy presidents over the next four years.
Ferdinand Kleppmann, president of ITAD Germany, kept his position as president of CEWEP when he was re-elected, and Luc Valaize, president of SVDU France, Jan Manders of the Dutch Waste Management Association, Håkan Rylander of Avfall Sverige Sweden and Daniele Fortini, president of Federambiente Italy, were voted as CEWEP’s deputy presidents.
The election took place at the FKF Zrt WTE plant in Budapest, and will be of great importance to the 380 WTE plants across Europe that the organization represents. Membership of CEWEP means a commitment to high environmental standards, the use of Best Available Techniques and producing energy efficiently from otherwise unrecyclable materials.
University plans to eliminate carbon emissions using WTE
A student newspaper for George Washington University in Washington DC, has reported that its students plan to send 3500 tons (3175 tonnes) of waste to WTE plants within a year in order to cut their carbon emissions down to zero. This is the amount of waste produced by the university’s Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon campuses, and can be converted into 1800 MWh of electricity. The scheme started on 5 October and is part of the univeristy’s commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions under the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment and GWU’s climate action plan.
‘By switching to waste to energy (WTE), our greenhouse gas emissions for solid waste will be reduced to zero,’ says Nancy Giammatteo, director of Planning and Environmental Management. The project will have a ‘large impact on the current dialogue and the next generation of leaders,’ said Meghan Chapple-Brown, director of GWU’s Office of Sustainability.
ETI identifying new WTE technologies
The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) in the UK is looking into the next generation of technologies which will help us produce energy from waste. It is estimated that around 100 million tonnes of waste produced annually in the UK could be converted into energy instead of going to landfill or being disposed of in other ways.
A consortium led by Caterpillar, involving EDF Energy, Cranfield University, CPI Innovation Services and Shanks Waste Management will carry out the work.
‘Local generation of energy will play a key part in achieving climate change goals. There is considerable potential for generating clean energy from waste and many local authorities are looking to invest in energy from waste technology,’ said ETI Chief Executive Dr David Clarke.
‘This study will map and characterize the waste produced in the UK, and will identify technology development opportunities to generate clean energy.’
The team will assess the energy content of waste created in the UK, evaluate existing technologies and improvements to generate energy from waste. It will assess the potential benefits including reduced CO2 emissions, increased affordability and a secure, local supply of fuel.
McDonald’s restaurants turn to waste to energy
As part of an initiative to stop sending waste to landfill altogether McDonald’s UK has involved 25 of its restaurants in a waste to energy scheme in which waste from the stores is collected by Veolia Environmental Services and sent to an energy recovery facility in south east London. It is then converted into power and used for homes and businesses in the UK.
The scheme has reduced McDonald’s carbon emissions in waste management by 48%, according to The Carbon Trust, and follows the success of its Sheffield scheme in 2007 which reduced emissions by 54%.
David Fairhurst, senior vice president of McDonald’s UK & Northern Europe, said, ‘We are proud to be the first quick service restaurant chain to commit to energy from waste as one solution to reducing the amount we send to landfill. Our energy from waste pilot in Sheffield clearly demonstrated that it is a viable way to reduce our carbon emissions and we are delighted that we are now able to roll out the scheme to 25 restaurants in London.
‘The challenge of responsibly managing food-contaminated waste, which is particularly difficult to recycle, is one faced by everyone in our industry so we are constantly looking at new ways to tackle this and reduce our environmental impact.’
WTE is ‘renewable’ according to Obama
An executive order which defines WTE as a source of renewable energy in the USA has been signed by President Barack Obama. The motion demands that federal agencies set up a 2020 greenhouse gas reduction emissions target within 90 days, increase energy efficiency, reduce fleet petrol consumption, conserve water, reduce waste, support sustainable communities and leverage federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies. This new order expands on executive order 13423 by making greenhouse gas reduction a priority of federal government. It shows that WTE is receiving wide support as a renewable source of energy.
Plasma Energy plant in Alberta
Alter NRG Corp and Dufferin County, Ontario, have signed an agreement to develop an energy recovery facility that will process 75 tonnes of MSW per day and convert it into electricity to be used in the local area. The preliminary agreement signed includes an investment of $200,000 from Dufferin County for engineering work to begin.
Alter NRG was selected as the technology provider and operator in May this year. The site is expected to be located at East Luther Grand Valley, and Dufferin County has agreed to provide waste feedstock for 20 years. The technology used will be Alter NRG’s Westinghouse Plasma Gasification Technology which uses high temperature plasma energy to convert the waste into a syngas and then converts it to electricity using conventional turbine equipment. This system has been used in two facilities in Japan for over six years, and will meet the environmental standards of North America.
The funding for the $32 million facility will be found through government grants and incentives and partner equity contributions. Alter NRG is the initial operator but is expecting to bring in other working partners. Dufferin and Alter NRG will advance the plant design and initialize project financing and permitting during the next six to 12 months. Construction is expected to start in late 2010 to have the plant fully operational by late 2012. The plant is expected to be constructed on a site originally intended for a landfill and is part of a larger Eco Energy Park.
Councilor Ed Crewson, chair of the Community Development Committee for Dufferin County stated, ‘The selection of Alter NRG to provide the technology for our energy from waste facility will result in the generation of green energy through the gasification of our waste. This is a major step forward in creating a sustainable Dufferin County and thereby protecting our environment for our childrens’ benefit.’
US EPA credits WTE and recycling with GHG savings
A report published by the US Environmental Protection Agency, entitled ‘Opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through materials and land management practices’, has linked WTE projects and recycling to the reduction of greenhouse gases. These are some of the points made in the report:
- WTE systems processing 31.4 million tons (28.5 million tonnes) of MSW avoided 17 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG emissions in 2006.
- MSW recycling in 2006 resulted in the avoidance of nearly 183 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG emissions.
- EPA WasteWise partners reported source reduction and recycling activities which resulted in an avoidance of 27 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG emissions in 2005.
The report confirms what many other studies have shown in recent times, i.e. that WTE combined with recycling reduces GHG emissions.
British government report states WTE is not a health risk
The UK government-backed agency the HPA (Health Protection Agency) published research earlier this year on the health effects of modern WTE facilities. The report concludes that any potential damage caused to human health from these facilities is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable.
A spokesman for the HPA said, ‘The evidence suggests that air pollution from incinerators makes up a fraction of 1% of the country’s particulate emissions. Industry and traffic account for more than 50%.’
The report gives evidence which says that any potential risk of cancer due to living near a waste incinerator was ‘exceedingly low’, and probably not measurable.
