Speaking at the first session of the World Waste To Energy Summit in London, Mr Samworth painted a gloomy picture of the UK’s waste infrastructure ambitions – arguing investors are not likely to be swayed by “inspirational targets”.
Sitting alongside Mr Samworth was EU official Jorge Diaz Del Castillo, who was more positive about the UK performance in the shorter term, suggesting that the Commission was pleased with the country’s progress.
Mr Samworth reasoned that the current political climate does not offer “structural support” for long-term investment in waste infrastructure and criticised “runaway market forces” for wreaking havoc on recycling businesses.
Foresight Group has made a number of large-scale investments in the recycling and renewable energy sectors since 2006. In 2012, the Group was appointed by the Green Investment Bank (GIB) to manage £50 million of an initial £80 million investment fund to support the building of green infrastructure in the UK (see letsrecycle.com story).
But the Group is also thought to have lost some money on its investments in the waste industry. The private equity firm had invested £4.7 million in Closed Loop Recycling’s Dagenham plant before the firm entered administration earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story).
Regulation
Mr Samworth said: “I can see there maybe long-term benefits to inspirational targets but investors will focus on what’s current and what’s in front of them. My gut reaction is I don’t see 70% by 2030. I don’t see how we get there in an economic manner. I am maybe underestimating level of regulation or carrots and sticks in the future but the trajectory we are on will undershoot that by a considerable margin.”
But the European Commission’s Mr Castillo, who works as a legal advisor on waste and recycling in the Environment Directorate-General, argued that the UK would fulfil its waste and recycling ambitions.
Mr Castillo, said the UK was making “good progress” on its current targets. He added: “If I was speaking in Bulgaria or Romania I would be saying something completely different.”
Hinting at the content of the EU’s revised circular economy package, Mr Castillo added that the role of RDF was more likely to feature in an EU ‘waste to energy communication’ – due to be published at the end of 2016.
Communication
The waste to energy communication to EU member states is expected to include:
- Optimisation of incineration;
- Assessment of advanced technologies such as pyrolysis and gasification “which are little understood”;
- Looking at waste derived fuels and what they mean “from an environmental point of view”;
- Clarifying the role of energy from waste in the waste hierarchy and when it can be justified to depart from it in specific waste streams (such as low-grade wood and plastics).
Commenting on questions from delegates that focused heavily on the impending circular economy package, Mr Castillo said the Commission was still “locking horns” on a plan that is “very comprehensive”.
He said: “We are over the opinion that we know it’s possible to do it [meet circular economy targets] if there is political will and if local authorities and investors think in the same way. There are regions in Italy that are able to recycle up to 80% of their waste.”
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