Manchester authority states support for waste as fuel

Speaking at a meeting on energy from waste in Westminster yesterday, the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority said that energy from waste was the best solution for residual waste.

” MBT reduces waste to half the amount by removing water and inert materials, and I don't think we can do better than that. “
– Cllr Neil Swannick, GMWDA
The authority said that it was expecting to use mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technology to produce solid derived fuel (SRF) under the waste contract.

Bids
Two groups of companies have been named as front-runners for the contract, which is likely to be worth more than 100 million each year over its 25-year period. A consortium of SITA UK, Royal Bank of Scotland and Peel Holdings is up against a joint venture of Viridor Waste Management and John Laings plc.

The authority's chairman, Cllr Neil Swannick, yesterday stated a preference for producing high-quality fuel, to reduce the price of waste disposal. He said: “We believe a refined fuel product is a more bankable solution.”

Cllr Swannick added that the authority had discovered a high level of interest for SRF in the North –West, providing a readily available market.

Manchester still plans to boost its recycling from 22% to 50% for its 1 million residents by 2020. Yet Cllr Swannick said that 700,000 tonnes of residual waste a year had to be dealt with.

He said: “We have to deal with the consequence. MBT reduces waste to half the amount by removing water and inert materials, and I don't think we can do better than that.”

Guidance
Despite his resolve, however, Cllr Swannick did admit that Manchester was lacking in guidance in terms of the climate change impact of different waste technologies.

The City of Manchester councillor said: “There is limited information on carbon performance of different waste solutions. Some central government guidance would help authorities take sensible decisions about the way forward.”