Scottish Government Incineration Review

The Scottish Government has published the second report of its incineration review, the remit of this one is a review of options to decarbonise Scotland’s residual waste infrastructure.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/stop-sort-burn-bury-independent-review-role-incineration-waste-hierarchy-scotland-second-report-decarbonisation-residual-waste-infrastructure-scotland/documents/

 

A quick summary;

Colin Church was asked to consider:

  • What does the current carbon impact of disposal of waste look like?
  • What are the possible options to decarbonise residual waste infrastructure?
  • What are the most effective and feasible options to improve existing waste management infrastructure in terms of carbon performance?
  • What combination of options is the most feasible for Scotland?

 

The review’s key findings

  • the current system for the reporting of sector’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions doesn’t reflect the full picture of the sector’s emissions impact;
  • Energy from Waste (EfW) should be included in scope of an extended UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS);
  • the most feasible options to decarbonise residual waste is:
  1. advanced sorting to remove recyclable material from residual waste;
  2. connection to heat networks; and
  3. deployment of carbon capture use or storage (CCUS).
  • little evidence to suggest that biostabilisation of biodegradable waste coupled with landfill was likely to be a major solution in Scotland, though it might offer a route for more remote communities.
  • advanced sorting would have an immediate and significant impact on direct emissions from incinerators (49-56% emission reduction depending on the scenario)
  • by 2030, all plastic should be removed before incineration by a combination of upstream policies such as bans on certain single-use plastic items, better source separation, and more intensive advanced sorting. With this in place the Review is “conscious that exporting plastic waste should not be encouraged”
  • heat networks only offer a “partial solution” to decarbonise the incineration sector and should be pursued “where possible” but not seen as a reason to build an incinerator
  • CCUS is likely to be a longer-term solution and will probably have a limited role to play in meeting Scotland’s current net zero ambitions.

 

One aspect which jumps out at me is the statement that “advanced sorting to remove recyclable material from residual waste” Does this mean we have totally given up on the public and business segregating recyclate properly. Current SEPA Material Recycling Facility (MRF) data is showing 30% contamination of recyclate!

 

We will review in a bit more detail over the next few days but would love to hear your comments.

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