30,000 TPA Residual Waste Processing & RDF Export Contract for Welsh Councils

In Wales, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion County Councils have struck a new deal to process and some 30,000 tonnes of residual waste each year for export to Sweden as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). According to the councils, the approach will save each council over £350,000 a year - and also create 11 jobs at Pembroke Dock, while having environmental benefits at home and abroad. Under the new contract which the two councils have signed with Potters Waste Management, waste from the two counties that cannot be recycled will be exported to Sweden. There it will be used in a waste to energy facilities to produce both electricity and heat for local Swedish households. Waste collected by the two counties will first be processed at sites at Pembroke Port (pictured) and in Lampeter to remove certain recyclable materials. It will then be shredded, baled and wrapped at Pembroke Port to create a Refuse Derived Fuel which can be shipped overseas. The contract has been let under an innovative framework contract that Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion have created with advice from private sector partners, Eunomia. Under the framework, any other council can buy waste disposal services from one of seven suppliers, including two UK based and five export solutions. The framework contract is available to all other councils in Wales and Pembrokeshire County Council has already had interest from a number of other authorities about joining. Richard Brown, Pembrokeshire head of environment and civil contingencies, said the contract provided an opportunity for achieving cost savings for the County Council while also creating jobs and boosting recycling rates. "It provides a flexible, low-risk, value-for-money approach that enables us to divert waste from landfill in the short term, but avoids committing too much waste to incineration in the long term as recycling rates escalate," he said. He added that using the excess capacity in Swedish incinerators allowed the waste to be disposed of cheaply, while the use of combined heat and power technology enabled far more energy to be extracted from the waste compared with most UK waste to energy plants. Councillor Alun Williams, Ceredigion County Council's portfolio holder for Waste and Recycling commented: "Ceredigion is always keen to work together with our neighbouring councils and we're very happy to be doing so with Pembrokeshire on this occasion, thereby saving money for both councils.” "In addition to the cost savings, this agreement is also the most environmentally benign option available to us,” he continued. “We will be extracting additional recyclate from the waste before exporting and, once the agreement is up and running, our intention is that none of our waste will be going to landfill at all." The councils also noted that the contract takes place against a background of increased financial and performance pressure on Welsh local authorities over their management of their municipal waste. Councillor Huw George, Pembrokeshire's cabinet member for environmental and regulatory services concluded that the contract would £create jobs, make savings and ensure an environmentally improved alternative to landfill for the disposal of our black bag waste”. The contract starts 1 March this year with the first shipment expected to take place at the beginning of June. Read More VIDEO: Importing Waste for Energy Recovery is Good Business for Sweden Importing garbage for energy is good business for Sweden according to the Swedish Waste & Recycling Association, Avfall Sverige. Commissioning begins on Multifuel £300m waste to energy plant Feb 2, 2015 The main construction phase of the £300m Ferrybridge Multifuel 1 (FM1) generation facility in West Yorkshire, England. 40 MW Wood Waste to Energy Plant to be Built & Operated by B&W Vølund in Wales Babcock & Wilcox Vølund has secured an EPC contract to build and operate a 40 MW wood waste to energy facility near Port Talbot, Wales.