Plastics industry hails Belvedere approval as “great news”

The BPF, the major trade association of the UK plastics industry, has long called for more energy recovery to divert wastes including plastics from landfill.

” We have called for a radical reduction in the time taken to process applications. “
– Peter Davis, BPF
Speaking to letsrecycle.com today, the Federation argued that building energy-from-waste recovery plants such as Belvedere closer to the source of waste would help cut the amount of fuel needed to transport waste to landfill sites.

Belvedere
The Belvedere plant – potentially the largest incinerator in the UK when it is finally built – was approved by the DTI on Friday after a 15-year planning process (see letsrecycle.com story).

Welcoming the approval of the plant, the BPF revealed it had called on the government through both Defra's English waste strategy review and the DTI's energy review to speed up the planning process for recovery projects.

BPF director general Peter Davis said: “This is great news for Londoners.

“It's taken far too long to get planning approval for Belvedere. Until it is completed, 400 extra lorry movements a month will be generated, taking London's waste to landfills elsewhere, after those in Essex close next year.

“In the British Plastics Federation's submissions to both the government's energy and waste strategy reviews, we have called for a radical reduction in the time taken to process applications,” Mr Davis said.

Option
Clarifying the Federation's view today, BPF industrial issues executive Matt Clements told letsrecycle.com that the organisation supported more recycling of plastics, but believed that “where the technology doesn't currently exist, then energy-from-waste offers a really good waste management option”.

The BPF spokesman said the calorific content of waste plastics was high, and that incineration diverts waste from landfill. Mr Clements also stressed the importance of the energy generation.

“With higher energy costs, we believe the government should be exploring how to lower energy costs through home-grown energy. It's a great opportunity – the UK is lagging behind the rest of Europe,” he said.

Climate change
Considering whether it was better for climate change to leave plastics in landfills or burn them to generate energy – thereby releasing greenhouse gases – Mr Clements argued that energy recovery plants could be built closer to the source of household waste, saving on the use of transport fuel.

“We have to take into account that landfill is running out,” he said. “But as far as climate change is concerned, we would have to transport the waste to landfills elsewhere.”

He insisted the BPF had “no preference” between materials recycling or energy recovery. However, defending the climate change credentials of burning plastics in incinerators, Mr Clements pointed out: “You also have to consider that recycling processes would also generate emissions. We should try not to solve one environmental issue by creating another.”