Recycle North Autumn Seminar The Role of the PARC BioProcessor in CarbonFriendly Waste Treatment 18t

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Recycle North Autumn SeminarThe Role of the
PARC Bio-Processor in Carbon-Friendly Waste
Treatment18th October 2006

• Les Grant
• Chief Executive
• Premier Waste Management Ltd

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Climate Change?
Source EM-DAT The OFDA/CRED International
Disaster Database www.em-dat.net - Université
Catholique de Louvain - Brussels - Belgium
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Climate Change Impact of Waste Management
Operations

• Major Local Authority Carbon Footprint Drivers
• Collection Rounds (Refuse and Recyclables)
• Landfill Operations (Methane 20 times more
  potent than CO2 )
• Landfill Directive LATS driven by desire to
  reduce methane emissions.
• So shouldnt Waste Strategies take into account
  their full environmental impacts including
  Climate Change implications?

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Waste Strategies New Technologies

• LATS penalties are driving bio-waste diversion
  targets.
• Immaturity of supply side of new technologies is
  a major concern to traditionally risk-averse
  clients.
• Energy from Waste seems an attractive
  proposition.
• Some suggestions that it represents an
  opportunity for green energy.
• Despite major planning public perception
  issues, a number of WDAs are building EfW into
  their Waste Strategies.

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But
Landfill with 50 efficient methane
capture Courtesy of Dept. of Earth Sciences,
University of Durham
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furthermore
Landfill with 50 efficient methane
capture Courtesy of Dept. of Earth Sciences,
University of Durham
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EfW and Climate Change

• So in GHG emissions terms EfW would seem to be
  worse than Landfill over the short medium term.
  
• CO2 outputs have 2 major downsides to WDAs
• Impact on any forthcoming Carbon Footprint BVPI
• Implications of any new Carbon Emissions
  taxation.
• Arguable that the crucial issue in Climate Change
  terms is Carbon Flux the rate of emissions to
  atmosphere.

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An Alternative Waste Strategy

• Key Elements
• Flexibility in terms of collections modes waste
  streams.
• Capability to treat un-segregated MSW and various
  levels of source segregated bio-waste.
• Proven technology which has been operating for gt4
  years.
• Established secure markets for outputs.
• Carbon Friendly Approach
• Sequestration of carbon to land.
• Potential for major reduction of collection
  impacts.
• An integrated system of collection, treatment and
  recycling.
• parc

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parc Bio-processor Tower
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parc Bio-processor Tower
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What is inside a Tower ?

• 3 waste processing chambers on top of each other.
• Each level with agitation arm and Air injection.
• Each level individually controlled for
  temperature.

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parc Bio-processor
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parc Outputs / Diversion Performance

• First 5 months of current fiscal year 15,803
  tonnes processed of which 11,644 tonnes diverted
  from landfill
• Recycled Compost 32.6
• Recycled Plastics 4.5
• Recycled Glass 4.4
• Recycled Metals 3.7
• Lost Water Content 28.5
• Landfill Diversion Efficiency 73.7
• Forecasting a further 5-6 diversion over rest
  of 2006 enhanced plastics recycling.
• Flexible system works with both source segregated
  and un-segregated waste streams.

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Use of Compost

• The Bio-processor compost output used to produce
  a blended soil product, parcGro.
• parcGro conforms to topsoil standards but will
  be used exclusively on brown-field site
  restoration.
• Used in the preparation and mulching of Short
  Rotation Willow Coppicing activities on
  Premier-controlled brown-field sites.
• Contracted market for Coppicing into SembCorp
  renewable fuel plant on Teesside.
• Already established long term market sufficient
  to support 3 full scale ( each 132,000 tonnes
  /annum ) regional plant.

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Carbon Sequestration and Recycling

• Some CO2 is produced in composting, but,
• Most of the biogenic carbon in the waste stream
  remains in the composted outputs and is
  sequestered to land.
• CO2 is gradually released to atmosphere but at a
  very slow rate.
• So how does the parc system compare with EfW
  and Landfill in terms of Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

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parc / SRC GHG Performance
Landfill with 50 efficient methane
capture Courtesy of Dept. of Earth Sciences,
University of Durham
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100-year Relative Performance
Landfill with 50 efficient methane
capture Courtesy of Dept. of Earth Sciences,
University of Durham
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Recycling Collection Strategies

• Waste Strategy Consultation paves way for new
  national recycling composting targets of 40 by
  2010 and 50 by 2020.
• Increased pressure to improve participation and
  scope of recyclate collected.
• Plastics recycling is becoming a more critical
  issue in terms of
• General Public perceptions
• Need to recycle carbon content in plastics.
• Green Waste composting / overhead of segregated
  collections.
• Overhead of separate kerbside schemes.

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Twin Bin v Boxes debate

• Up to now recyclate collection options either
  segregated kerbside or alternate week
  refuse/mixed recyclate strategy.
• Both have shortcomings
• Kerbside
• cost,
• participation rates,
• some HS issues.
• Alternative Week Twin Bin
• Problems in recyclate segregation
• bio-waste/ general contamination,
• light v heavy weeks.
• Some public acceptance issues.

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parc-it Green Bag Scheme

• Single mode collection.
• Green Bag for plastic bottles/containers, paper
  card.
• Bin for residual bio-waste (including green
  waste), metals, glass and plastic film.
• Green Bag goes in top of bin - collected every
  week.
• Always the same collection mode. Simple for
  householder.
• Substantial reduction in vehicle movements
  (kerbside, green waste collections).
• Green Bags segregated at Transfer Station for
  processing in automated MRF. Metals removed from
  residual waste.
• Input to parc - residual wastes food / green
  waste/ glass/ plastic films packaging.

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parc-it Green Bag Scheme

• Intensive recycling scheme (gt75
  recycling/composting rate).
• Simple, low cost, carbon-efficient single round
  Collection System.
• Addresses plastics recycling issue.
• Addresses participation/ HS issues associated
  with Kerbside schemes.
• Insulation from Carbon Levy risks associated with
  EFW.
• Provides massive Carbon storage associated
  financial benefit of Carbon permit trading.
• Production of truly sustainable renewable fuel.
• Low Cost High Recycling Carbon Neutral.
• WIN - WIN -
  WIN