letsrecycle.com accused of “tabloid journalism”

The comments came in a letter from Dr Stuart McLanaghan of Associates in Industrial Ecology Ltd, based at Red Lion Cottage and Barn, Gamblesby, near Penrith.

letsrecycle.com published a news story on the subject of separate collections of kitchen waste based on a Newcastle city council report. This noted that there were concerns that if the council was to separately collect kitchen waste, it would have knock-on implications for the performance of an MBT plant in the city. To help clarify the Newcastle situation, we reproduce the letter below.

The letter in full is as follows:

Separate kitchen waste collections “threaten” MBT process (17.03.06)

I write with reference to the above article which raises issues with both potential implications for Newcastle CC’s forthcoming SA/SEA and the take-up of MBT more generally.

AiIE was commissioned in 2005 to provide LASU-funded consultancy support to Newcastle City Council. Whilst not part of the agreed work programme, we were subsequently requested to provide initial thoughts on the likely impact of the front-end removal of bio-waste on the Ellington in-vessel composting facility. As a result, I have taken this opportunity to correct the errors made in this article as follows:

1. We cannot speak on behalf of WRAP however, by way of clarification, the work conducted by ROTATE dealt with potential front-end levels of recycling and as such it neither had a remit to, indeed nor did it, comment on treatment options for the residual waste fraction.
2. The central thrust of the article is that separate collection of kitchen waste “threatens” the MBT process and that the City Council has been advised not to collect food waste separately from residual waste, as it would affect the “technical viability” of the MBT plant. This is simply incorrect: no such advice or conclusion arises from the work undertaken. You have also used quotation marks, although the phrase “technical viability” does not appear within the report.
3. From 2008 as part of a new collection round, Newcastle City Council intends achieving a step-change in front-end BVPI performance. Our modelling highlights that front-end collection would not be sufficient to discharge the City Council’s LATS obligations in isolation; indeed, from as early as 2009/10 this would require a level of performance well in excess of current English best practice, with no such examples identified on the continent, thereby making a compelling case for residual waste treatment.
4. Tonnage would not represent a limiting factor: after front-end collection of bio-waste, the remaining mixed organic material would likely be sufficient to maintain the maximum operational throughout at the Ellington plant (40,000 tonnes p.a.), even after allowances had been made for losses during the MBT-stage (e.g. moisture).
5. What is at question is the impact of removing perhaps halve of the total biodegradable material on the quality of the subsequent ‘end-product’. This is a crucial issue given the extent to which Newcastle City Council is depending upon its current configuration to deliver BVPI and LATS targets in the interim, until the new collection contract commences. Clearly, this is highly conditional on the compost-like material being of a sufficient standard to continue to supply beneficial end-markets and if legislative &/or regulatory controls change, thereafter its ability to meet ‘bio-stabilisation’ requirements if managed via landfill. We believe it would have been remiss of us not to forewarn Newcastle City Council of these factors.

Our final report was submitted to Newcastle City Council on 16th March – the day preceding your article; I have been reliably informed that none of your staff have as yet seen its contents.

Naturally, I am extremely disappointed that this article reflects a level of reporting alongside that of the worst kind of tabloid journalism and as a result, I must insist it is withdrawn immediately until such time as the above points have been corrected.

Yours sincerely,

CC: Les Clark, Newcastle CC
Linda Crichton, ROTATE
Dr Stephen Wise-Merry, SITA
Dr Jane Gilbert, Composting Association
Steve Lee, CIWM
Trelawny Dampney, Composting Association
Andreas Kuhlmann, Horstmann Recyclingtechnik GmbH
Enzo Favoino, Chair, ISWA Working Group on Biological Treatment of Waste