West Sussex seeks outlets for refuse-derived fuel

The county council is seeking expressions of interest from organisations capable of using the material in applications such as combined heat and power generation. It hopes to sign a 10-year contract with the third party to ensure a secure end market.

The refuse derived fuel (RDF) is set to come from a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility capable of handling 330,000 tonnes of residual waste a year, which is expected to be developed near Warnham in Horsham by the preferred bidder for the council's 25-year waste treatment deal, Biffa (see letsrecycle.com story).

Phil Russell, the county council's head of wastes management, said: “The county council and Biffa are jointly conducting a local RDF market testing exercise. If you believe your organisation might be able to take up this valuable opportunity, we would like to hear from you.”

A statement from the council outlined that any companies planning to build facilities in which to use the RDF would need, “as a very minimum”, to have secured planning permission by the end of the 2009/10 financial year.

A spokesman for the council explained that it expected to pay a gate fee to the successful bidder to take the material.

It has set a deadline for applications of September 4.

Security

Birmingham-based Biffa and West Sussex are still in final negotiations over the MBT facility, although Biffa has submitted a planning application to be determined by the end of the year. If approved the company hopes to have the plant operational by 2012.

Under the terms of the proposed MBT, there is the option for Biffa to develop a bespoke gasification facility to treat the residue if outlets for the material cannot be found.

Outlets for RDF have come under increased pressure since the onset of the global economic slowdown, as a number of cement kilns – a traditional end market for the material – have had to close or mothball operations in response to the slump in the construction sector.

In February, Defra announced that it would be investigating the market for RDF in a bid to make MBT a “genuine” treatment option for local authorities (see letsrecycle.com story), and major RDF producer, Milton Keynes-based Shanks Group, last month said that it was confident there would be outlets for the material outside of the cement industry (see letsrecycle.com story).