UK dependence on European hazardous waste disposal ‘could hamper growth’
13 Jun 2023
Industrial growth in the UK could be threatened by over-dependence on other countries to deal with British firms’ hazardous waste, says a sector expert.
Phil Manley of waste management company CSG warned that, with just two sizeable hazardous waste incinerator sites in this country, domestic plants could not cope with present levels of demand.
The sites in Southampton and Ellesmere Port are both now half a century old, with long waiting lists for disposal.
Fortunately, European neighbouring states including the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and France all have capacity to cope with a substantial level of UK business waste, said Manley. Furthermore, unlike Britain, many European sites have the capacity to turn hazardous waste into energy.
“It’s perfectly legal to send waste overseas and they are currently happy to receive it, as they have the capabilities to turn the waste to energy, which is particularly welcome at the moment given the price of fossil fuels and the desire to create energy in different ways,” said Manley.
However, he warned, the practice might not be maintained indefinitely.
“We’re relying on the governments of countries saying they are OK with receiving our hazardous waste. If that suddenly stopped, then a large portion of UK industry would grind to a halt. We are on a knife-edge,” he cautioned.
“Shipping hazardous waste abroad is an extra cost to UK businesses which could be avoided if we had adequate facilities within our own borders. If you’re making a product then the cost has to be competitive. Other countries with their own hazardous waste incinerators can make things cheaper because they haven’t got these additional costs.”
Despite the business case for building hazardous waste incinerators, public perception of the supposed dangers remained the sticking point.
Explained Manley: “There is very strong resistance within the UK population to have hazardous waste to energy incinerators. The emissions controls are excellent and they have very high standards to meet, but people don’t want them and it’s difficult to get planning permission and an EA permit. Businesses won’t invest £200 million in an incinerator if they aren’t sure they’ll get a permit.”
The need for firms to keep costs down while relying on shipment to European sites has provided waste disposal specialists including CSG with a revenue stream from stripping the hazardous element from products.
A recent new source of waste contracts has been hand gel waste since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Gel is separated from the container, to be blended for fuel or solvent reclamation, while the packaging is recycled domestically.
“We are continually looking at new ways of separating materials so that they can be used again rather than incinerated. But, even if measures like these can help to reduce some of the burden on the current incinerators, waste to energy incineration will remain the only option for many waste streams,” commented Manley.
