enfinium’s Ferrybidge 1 processes six million tonnes of waste

The Energy from Waste (EfW) operator claimed that this waste would otherwise have been sent to landfill and that as a result the company has prevented approximately 2,250,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Ferrybridge 1 was opened in 2015 in West Yorkshire and makes up the largest EfW facility in the UK alongside its sister site Ferrybridge 2.

Mike Maudsley, CEO of enfinium, said: “Preventing over two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions at our Ferrybridge 1 facility demonstrates the crucial role energy from waste continues to play in decarbonising the UK’s waste.

“By offering a more sustainable alternative to landfill for treating the nation’s unrecyclable waste, we are reducing emissions and playing our part in supporting a circular economy. I am immensely proud of Ferrybridge 1’s role in delivering decarbonisation powered by waste for the UK, and am grateful to all of the team at Ferrybridge whose hard work have helped us reach this milestone.”

Emissions associated with Energy from Waste

enfinium said that, since 1990, the uptake of energy from waste has helped bring the emissions from the waste sector down by 74%.

The EfW industry has been under fire recently, with a BBC article in October labelling it “the UK’s dirtiest form of power”.

Its investigation claimed that EfW produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power. The last UK coal plant closed in September.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) contested the BBC’s findings – saying that it was “incorrect” to not consider the emissions reduced through the avoidance of landfill.

In a statement, the ESA said that recovering energy via EfW is now the “predominant means of treating residual waste” which is “in accordance with the waste hierarchy”.

The spokesperson added: “It is important to point out that neither local nor national policy prioritises the use of waste as a fuel to generate energy over other sources. The energy generated is simply a beneficial by-product of treating waste, which is a vital societal function.”