Scottish Waste SummitEdinburgh, 3rdOctober, 2007

Debate Motion: ‘’Zero Waste and Energy from Waste are not

compatible’’

Zero Waste – What is it and what is it not?

There are various definitions: Here’s one:

"ZERO WASTE is the recycling of all materials back into nature or themarketplace, in a manner that protects human health and the environment." Source: Lynn Landes, Founder and Director www.ZeroWasteAmerica.org

Others e.g. The Planning Group of the Zero Waste International Alliance definition, November 29, 2004, specifically exclude landfill and burning;

The concept grew out of the ‘Zero defects in manufacturing’ agenda. where it was a commitment to ever improving quality and standards.

All have a primary focus on recycling when the onus should be on prevention but inclusive of total resource management including energy.

All are acceptable as aspirational goals but should, as with Zero Tollerance, Zero Poverty, Zero Crime etc be recognised in context to a continuous journey of improvement not a fixed end point.

None will help us deal with waste in the short to medium term. None recognise that the drivers to deliver Zero Waste are global, EU, UK then Scottish in

decreasing order of influence. Such is the reality of globalisation. None overtly recognise that the real issue is unsustainable human consumption. All exhibit a healthy concern at ‘burning rubbish’ but do not delve deeper to evaluate how

energy recovery can work effectively as part of a fully integrated resource management system.

Zero Waste is not a realistic end point but a good aspirational driver to continual improvement.

Zero Waste - What could it be in practical terms?

"Zero Waste aims for continual improvement in reducing consumption and preventing and reusing waste before recycling or recovering value from all other materials, ensuring that human health and the environment are protected."

I will now try to show how a practical application of a Zero Waste approach could be achieved both in terms of the application of the waste hierarchy and other connected disciplines.

Zero Waste, the Waste Hierarchy and Resource Management

Preventing Waste - In terms of zero waste this is the starting point. Scotland is first part of UK to publish a Waste Prevention Strategy – deliver and build on this. Push the limits of devolved competence and get better at influencing others.

Re-use - Major benefits in the social economy including employment, excellent work by CRNS – growing. Keep it growing.

Recycling - David Dougherty has shown us how we can in increase our recycling his presentation this morning and much work has been done on this recently by Scottish Government.

Energy from waste – I’ll come to this shortly, but look at what else is happening: Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: - This for the first time

creates an environment in which global resources can be looked at as a global issue – emerging.

Sustainable Consumption and Production: - Pending EU Action Plan – For the first time we are acknowledging that neither our production systems nor our consumption patterns are sustainable and this is a threat to global development, global equity and a decent life for all of this planet’s inhabitants.

Integrated Product Policies: - This looks at how we can manufacture our goods with greater efficiency, lower eco-footprint and less damage to the environment. Close links to Producer Responsibility which we are increasingly familiar with.

Industrial ecology and Industrial symbiosis: – emerging concepts to reduce resource use and maintain cradle to cradle resource use loops.

All of this is happening now driven by increasing resource costs and competition, environmental awareness, Corporate Social Responsibility and ever tightening legislation.

Zero Waste needs to encapsulate all of this current activity to become one of the drivers to continual improvement in how we use resources and protect our environment and human health.

Zero Waste and Energy from Waste

It does not have to become a sideways shift from ‘hump and dump’ to ‘churn and burn’.

It can work with high recycling levels: Our European neighbours have evolved

both simultaneously. There are various ways we can avoid the

‘feed the beast scenario’. It is regulated stringently and SEPA will strictly

enforce! It can form part of an integrated resource

management not a waste disposal system. How could we do it then?

Energy from Waste in Context to Zero Waste – It can be done!

Rigorous application of the waste hierarchy – especially waste prevention. Increase recycling by recovering more materials from kerbside and other recycling systems and from residual

waste adding to front end recycling. SEPA modelling shows we could certainly exceed 60%! Segregate the waste biomass to a condensed, energy rich fuel and use it efficiently. If it isn’t fuel don’t use it! Integrate the primary and secondary biomass sectors with this (tertiary!). waste biomass Prioritise the use of waste biomass over primary thus reducing the life cycle and biodiversity impacts and

subsidy requirement of primary bio-fuels. Contribute to energy security, carbon neutrality, economic regeneration and carbon neutral housing. The technologies exist to achieve this – MBT or MRF with Anaerobic Digestion or Gasification. All burn a gas

not a solid phase therefore emission are better and we should realise that there are concerns from the growth of solid fuel burning in terms of Scotland’s air equality strategy.

However standard incineration is tried and tested and works – all are subject to the same strict emission controls. It is largely a question of scale and how we recover energy efficiently.

Also source segregated compost had a good future but the potential for this material from residual waste will be limited – waste biomass in residual waste is in my view better used for energy.

Use the planning system effectively and integrating economic development, housing and energy policy (especially renewable biomass) to drive the efficient use of all biomass energy systems. We can build the next generation of facilities as district heating or combined heat and power at 60% plus efficiency and lead in Europe, not follow where they were 30 years ago.

We can sell this to the public. in a way that we will struggle if we build large scale low efficiency mass burn facilities. If we do this for MSW then we will have to do the same for a much larger volume of Commercial and Industrial waste if we want to tackle the move away from landfill for these waste. It is not the quick and easy tried and tested solution we think and risks lengthy planning delays. Smaller scale facilities using only energy rich waste fuels once all viable recyclate has been recovered mean the burden from small scale facilities is spread more widely (an environmental justice issue) and we would need less capacity in these facilities.

SEPA will shortly publish a report on the energy content of waste biomass in Scotland. Early indications are that the amount of energy if used efficiently is much higher than anticipated.

In Conclusion

We must prevent waste as a priority. We can reach high levels of recycling and recover energy efficiently. We can do all of this with tried and tested technology. We can do this knowing the benefits to climate change and resource conservation and on

the basis of benefits and safety sell this to the public. SEPA stands ready to model and assess any proposed systems and assist Scottish

Government and local authorities in developing the best options. Bottom line – it may cost more in the short term. But it will pay dividends as energy security,

climate change and resource competition pressures increase over time as they inevitably will.

We are at a watershed in Scottish waste management and what we do next will either build in 30 years of obsolescence or show Scotland as a leader in innovation in waste and resource management systems and technologies, addressing its climate change impacts, resource conservation and contributing to carbon neutral energy security making Zero Waste a total waste resource management reality.

Local Authorities need clear objectives – give them these and they will deliver. Finally ladies and gentlemen, I oppose the motion today, not because I or SEPA are pro

incineration, we are not, we are pro integrated resource management, but because to waste energy in any system cannot be compatible with any Zero Waste policy.

THANKYOU

A full Copy of this presentation and notes is available from john.ferguson@sepa.org.uk