“Huge” opportunity to sell UK waste technology overseas

Launching a report in London yesterday (Thurs) on the UK's competitive position on the world environmental stage, ESAG chairman Colin Drummond said that the UK was a world leader in landfill technology in particular.

” There are lots of opportunities for waste technology suppliers to companies such as Biffa and Viridor to help meet world demand for environmental services“
– Colin Drummond, Viridor chief executive and ESAG chairman

The ESAG chairman, who is also chief executive of Viridor Waste Management, said that the UK's equipment for monitoring landfill methane and leachate, capturing landfill gas and generating electricity was world class – and attributed this partly to the Renewables Obligation.

Since 2002, the obligation has seen UK companies rewarded for producing renewable energy – and therefore has encouraged investment.

Mr Drummond said: “Because we have the Renewables Obligation in the UK every big landfill operation is looking to optimise their yield from landfill sites –we won't waste any of it. It now accounts for 30% of all renewable energy in the UK.”

The ESAG chairman – who works with ESAG as part of the government's UK Trade and Investment organisation -gave landfill remediation specialist Churngold and landfill gas power generation firm Biogas Technology as examples of cutting-edge technology producers.

He said: “There are lots of opportunities for waste technology suppliers to companies such as Biffa and Viridor to help meet world demand for 400 billion of environmental services year, compared to just 25 billion in the UK.”

Recycling

Mr Drummond, who recently helped Viridor win preferred bidder status for Manchester's 2 billion waste contract, (see letsrecycle.com story) admitted that the UK was not so strongly placed in terms of its recycling technology.

However, he stressed that the UK was making great strides ahead in areas such as composting.

He said: “We are less ahead on recycling technology than countries like Germany but there is lots of activity in the UK in areas such as composting. For instance, for our Manchester bid we are working with a range of UK suppliers.” (see letsrecycle.com story)

He added: “Companies such as the pyrolysis and gasification company Compact Power in Avonmouth have also seen huge interest overseas.”