letsrecycle.com

NAWDO: ‘Incinerator rules alone will not increase recycling’

The National Association of Waste Disposal Officers (NAWDO) has responded to the new standards set by Defra for waste incinerator proposals.

Eastcroft waste incinerator in Nottingham

The government this week (30 December 2024) said that waste incinerators will only receive planning approval if they “meet strict new local and environmental conditions”.

NAWDO said that it supports the principle of ensuring that the right mix of infrastructure is developed to support Net Zero ambitions.

However, it warned that restricting Energy from Waste (EfW) capacity will not in itself drive reductions in material use, nor increases in reuse and recycling.

It added that “it is an outdated notion” that recycling is reduced by a need to feed EfW plants.

In a statement made today (3 January 2024), NAWDO said: “Local authorities already have a statutory duty to dispose of municipally collected waste and bear the cost and delivery risk if there is not enough EfW capacity, and it’s therefore essential for government to have in place regulations that require producers and retailers to drive the delivery of low waste outcomes without leaving the problem to hard pressed councils alone.”

What will the new requirements include?

The new rules will require:

  • Projects to maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy.
  • Developers to demonstrate that their projects will help lower the amount of non-recyclable waste sent to landfill or enable the replacement of older, less efficient plants.
  • New projects to be built Carbon Capture ready and make use of the heat they produce. This will include plants that produce fuels that can be used to decarbonise other sectors, such as aviation.

NAWDO said that it agreed that any facilities need to be built to an extremely high standard for the benefit of communities and the environment.

It added that many local authorities using EfW facilities are already working (solely or with their provider) to meet these criteria, ensuring that clean and safe waste disposal facilities are available to receive municipal waste.

The association called on the government to do more to support this work, particularly when it comes to implementing technologies such as carbon capture infrastructure, as this option will be difficult for some owing to cost and geography.

Landfilling of solid waste to continue

A Residual Waste Infrastructure Capacity Note accompanied the announcement and reported that the new requirements will not “negatively affect the country’s capacity to process waste and should decrease the amount sent to landfill”.

The UK expects to landfill up to 10% of all municipal solid wastes until 2035.

NAWDO questioned whether the continued reliance on this landfill capacity raises the question of whether there is actually sufficient EfW capacity for the UK to be self-sufficient, particularly as the true impacts of the government’s incoming collection and packaging reforms remain to be seen.

The association warned that the government must be careful to avoid a scenario where restricted EfW capacity leads to greater reliance on landfill or export in the future, which would be a backwards step.

Share this article with others

Subscribe for free

Subscribe to receive our newsletters and to leave comments.

Back to top

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get the latest waste and recycling news straight to your inbox.

Subscribe