phs Targets 95% Landfill Diversion of Hygiene Waste : Viridor Deal to See phs Divert Hygiene Waste from Landfill to Energy Recovery
UK washroom services specialist, phs Group, has agreed a new partnership with waste and recycling firm, Viridor, to divert customer waste away from landfill and into waste to energy.
The Caerphilly, Wales based company explained that as part of its sustainable waste management strategy, the new multi-million pound, five-year national contract will see phs-managed non-recyclable waste transformed into energy at Viridor plants across the country.
phs said that it collects around 65,000 tonnes of hygiene waste from customers, including nappies and sanitary products. If disposed of within landfill, this waste can take more than 500 years to decompose. However, with this new partnership in place, phs-managed waste will be treated at Viridor’s energy recovery facilities (ERFs), creating low carbon electricity which is sent to the National Grid.
The company added that this will enhance its customers’ sustainability objectives; not only diverting waste from landfill but using it to create energy. phs has set an objective to divert up to 95% of its customers’ hygiene waste away from landfill.
“Organisations need to be questioning whether they should leave a burden of more than 500 years for every bag of washroom waste they dispose of,” said David Taylor-Smith, CEO of phs Group.
“Through phs’ LifeCycle strategy, organisations will significantly reduce their impact upon the planet by landfill diversion and energy creation, transforming this burden into a legacy,” he added.
The new Viridor contract will give phs national cover across its network of sites, significantly reducing the road mileage required to dispose of hygiene waste sustainably as well as offering the capacity that the hygiene services business needs to ensure its customers’ waste is catered for responsibly.
Viridor’s operational waste to energy capacity is 2.8 million tonnes of waste (including joint ventures), generating 233 MW of electricity. Once its Avonmouth facility comes on stream in 2020, this will extend to 3.1 million tonnes and 267 MW.
Paul Ringham, Viridor’s Commercial Director commented: “Viridor’s fleet of energy recovery facilities across the UK provided the sustainable waste management strategy phs was looking for.
“A key part of Viridor’s relationship with phs is the emphasis on attaching a purpose to waste which cannot be recycled, putting this residual waste to work in a process which creates low carbon electricity and contributes to UK energy security. This is an ambition shared by phs which, like Viridor, views all waste as a resource and not rubbish.”
