That truth is to be found in the data and examination of the facts, said Mr Gourvennec who was speaking at an Onyx event in London called “Facing the Facts”. And, he emphasised to delegates that recycling, energy recovery and landfill were likely to remain the main disposal routes rather than some new technologies which seemed more akin to “Voodoo Waste Management, when you have your waste disappearing.”
The overriding conclusion to the day was that the UK needed to spend more if more municipal waste was to be diverted from landfill, modern energy from waste plants had a role to play and that the public had to be engaged in the waste and recycling debate.
Seeking the truth about waste, Mr Gourvennec drew comparisons between the UK and France. Both countries have a population roughly the same at 60 million, a similar GDP and household waste generation levels of about 30 million tonnes per annum as well as almost the same typical bin content. But the French expenditure is 100 per tonne of MSW and the UK 50 excluding tax with landfilling of waste now at the 50% mark compared to the UK's 81%.
“Why is the cost so different, it is not more productivity in the UK, cheaper operating costs, no… is it France being a model of sophisticated waste solutions? no,” said the chief executive.
The difference he said is that to comply with the EU directives, French expenditure has doubled in the last 10 years. French local authorities had been spending 1.6 billion in 1990 and this had now reached 3bn.”The UK is 10 years behind, it is 10 billion of investment short of France in the quest for the Holy Grail.”
Mr Gourvennec looked at the variety of waste options available in the UK. Landfill, he said, had grown because of favourable geology and less stringent regulation in the past. Excess supply had also kept costs down and a typical current price without the tax is 13 a tonne which is “at a level killing recycling initiatives”.
The prospect, he said is of more stringent regulations and a typical landfill cost of 15 a tonne. “Bring the Landfill Tax up to 25 plus and channel the tax revenues to help recycling,” he urged government
On energy from waste (EfW), Mr Gourvennec pointed to huge progress over the last 10 years in flue gas treatment which makes “Energy from Waste one of the most effective and environmentally correct solutions” when factors are taken into account such as geology, geography, energy needs and urban density. Current costs on average per tonne for EfW are in the range 35-40. And, he questioned the role of the green movement in the UK in its opposition to new EfW plants. “The green movement is a global player. The difference in France is that the green movement fights the old incinerators and supports the new ones.”
On composting, Mr Gourvennec cautioned that the in-vessel approach may have some difficulties. “This has the same capital cost as EfW but a higher operating cost and no electricity revenue.” And, he wondered whether there a market for the digestate produced.
As for other new technologies, Mr Gourvennec warned “there are generally more projects than references. Some promising pilots remain to be confirmed at a larger scale as well as having their costs per tonne clarified.” Taking a swipe at some projects, Mr Gourvennec said that they were like “Voodoo Waste Management”, with waste simply disappearing.
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