News in Brief

MVV denied planning permission for Devon MRF

The facilities had been recommended for approval by the county councils planning officers but councillors decided to reject the proposal after a lengthy debate.

The proposed facilities would have treated waste collected under MVVs 25-year PFI contract with the South West Devon Waste Partnership, signed in March 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story), as well as incinerator bottom ash produced by the companys 245,000 tonne CHP incinerator at Devonport Docks.

MVV Environment Devonport Ltd managing director Paul Carey, said: We are naturally disappointed at the decision by Devon county councils Development Management Committee to reject our planning application. The grounds for refusal are unclear and we await the decision from Devon county council, but subject to that we will make an appeal.

DS Smith and SCA Packaging deal on track

UK paper packaging giant DS Smith announced this week that its proposed acquisition of SCA Packaging, as announced on 17 January 2012, is proceeding on track. An application was made to the European Commission for competition clearance on 28 March 2012.

A statement from the company said: In addition, consultation has been completed with all the relevant works councils, including those in France which were required prior to SCA accepting the offer for the French business. Accordingly on 24 April 2012 DS Smith and SCA signed the agreement for DS Smith to acquire the French Business of SCA. The acquisition of the French Business is therefore expected to follow the same timetable as for the remainder of SCA Packaging. Completion of this acquisition will normally take place at the end of the month in which the last of the conditions is met.

DS Smith said that the French operations are likely to be completed in June.

AmeyCespas Waterbeach IVC achieves PAS 100 standard

Compost produced at AmeyCespas Waterbeach Waste Management Park in Cambridgeshire has been awarded the prestigious PAS 100 standard.

PAS 100, the nationally recognised specification for compost, is designed to reassure purchasers of the quality of the compost.

AmeyCespas compost is made from mixed food and garden waste collected from households by the district councils in Cambridgeshire. The company was found to have met all the criteria to achieve the standard during an external assessment.

Jon Jones, head of operations for AmeyCespa, said: Providing a range of composting facilities on our site helps us to maximise the amount of waste we are diverting from landfill.

Achieving the PAS 100 standard for the compost produced by the IVC recognises the high quality of the material as well as confirming that it is safe, reliable and of high performance. This is a great achievement and is testament to the hard work of the IVC team.

Lincolnshire firm fined for illegal waste operation

Grimsby-based waste management company Wilton Waste Management Ltd and its director have been fined a total of 40,000 for running an illegal waste operation at the companys site in Humberston.

The company received a fine of 30,000 as well as prosecution costs of 27,500 and director Richard Stannard was ordered to pay 10,000 at Scunthorpe Magistrates Court on Friday (20 April).

The court was told that the company had been in breach of the terms of its environmental permit, and that large amounts of inert and household waste had been tipped at the site and mixed together between April 2010 and 2011.

Magistrates heard that the site is above a groundwater source protection zone for public water supply boreholes at Weelsby, three miles away, which would be at risk from pollutants in the ground.

The site had been previously permitted as a waste transfer station in 2005, but an investigation by the Environment Agency and North East Lincolnshire council planning enforcement officers found that the company was in breach of the conditions of its environmental permit.

In sentencing, District Judge Daniel Curtis described Wilton Waste Management as a company like many in this industry set up and discarded to escape proper punishment.

Government unveils Bioenergy Strategy

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) yesterday (April 26) published its Bioenergy Strategy, which outlines the governments future plans for using biomass to generate energy.

Bioenergy is renewable energy derived from organic matter, known as biomass, and include agricultural energy crops which are burnt to produce heat or energy as well as energy-from-waste technologies such as anaerobic digestion (AD), landfill gas capture, combustion and combined heat and power (CHP).

The government sees biomass technologies as a way of providing reliable energy supplies and reducing the carbon emissions of electricity fossil fuels.

Notably, DECC says it is working with industry to limit the number of crops grown solely for use in AD in order to increase the amount of waste treated through AD, which it hopes will generate around 2TWh by 2020.

Energy minister Charles Hendry, said: We are clear that sustainable biomass could be a vital transitional fuel to reduce carbon emissions from current coal power generation. It has a role in providing low carbon heat for buildings and industry through boilers or use of biomethane.

It can be an important tool in diverting waste away from landfill, and advanced biofuels could reduce carbon emissions across transport, particularly aviation and shipping where the alternatives are limited.