Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Interesting story by Robin Pagnamenta in the Times yesterday.  The CEO of Sita UK - one of the country’s biggest waste processing companies – has said that up to 17% of the UK’s electricity needs could be generated by burning waste and methane from landfill sites.

The UK currently incinerates 10% of municipal waste – compared with 78% in Switzerland and 72% in Germany.

Despite dramatically increased recycling in the UK we still dump 50 million tonnes of waste a year.  On the plus side incinerating waste reduces landfill, and Sita generated over 1 million MW hours of electricity last year; which is enough to power 215,000 homes.

There’s always a flip side of the coin though, and town planners will often reject proposals due to concerns over air pollution.  Sita has recently had a planning application denied (by 20 votes to 1) for a proposed waste incineration plant in Cornwall.  Friends of the Earth says that burning waste worsens climate change; undermines recycling efforts; and causes pollution from air emissions and toxic ash.

I can’t see us ever getting to the same levels as some of our European cousins when it comes to burning our waste for power.  It’s worth remembering though that the average person ends up adding 509kg of waste to landfill sites, so think again next time you reach to open the bin, and  where possible!