Will cash strapped councils in Wales have less money to spend from 2018? The clock is ticking towards the answer as the Welsh Government’s consultation on its new Landfill Disposals Tax, replacing the UK landfill tax in three years’ time, has drawn to a close.
History suggests that government landfill tax reviews result in an increase in charges as politicians aim towards the goal of a ‘zero waste economy’.
I have a remedy for the tax charge headache experienced by every council finance director across the nation. The medicine is adopting innovative waste disposal technology. Whilst still emerging in this country, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) is going strong in continental Europe with nations like Sweden, Germany, and Holland already reaping the benefits.
In short, local councils can save money by processing domestic waste into fuel.
The waste industry should aim to widen the opportunity for councils to take advantage of turning waste into fuel. Not only can society cut costs, but we can behave more responsibly by using valuable resources rather than burying them underground.
Savings
The market is already responding positively to this opportunity. For example, North Somerset Council recently approved disposing of over 7,000 tonnes of black bag waste, with Boomeco saving taxpayers over £400,000; equivalent to about £57 per tonne compared to landfill.
It is important that the industry responds to this demand. This can be done with investment in new technology to support RDF. Boomeco recently invested £2.5 million on the latest technology to enable us to take wood and household black bag waste and turn it into fuel. Our new processing equipment uses an efficient shred-bale-tie procedure, improving both the efficiency of the process and our capacity to meet ever-increasing demand.
This new technology keeps costs down. The tying process which Boomeco operates uses economical PET strapping, which is much cheaper compared to black or galvanised baling wire. Stretch film wrapping is more cost-effective and it is now safer than ever to store the fuel while it is waiting for further use as a source of energy in waste-to-energy plants.
It is crucial that the waste management industry engages with local councils, agencies, and national government to raise awareness about the benefits of RDF. We need a conversation about the next steps for this country to catch-up with our European neighbours.
Let’s start with how to expand the UK’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) capacity, which converts RDF into renewable energy and heat for local communities, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Currently, the UK is able to process just under 5 million tonnes of waste at 26 plants, a fraction of the total waste produced.
This is simply not enough capacity for the RDF market to take-off in our country. We would be very interested in whether the wider waste community sees expanding CHP in Wales and the rest of the UK as a priority, or whether the only growth market is likely to remain overseas.
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