Energy from waste - a wasted opportunity?

A new report titled A Wasted Opportunity has outlined an action plan to prevent the UK turning into one big dumping ground. The plan, devised by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) urges the government to adopt a series of measures and advanced technologies which could help reduce CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 and produce a third of UK electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

The report highlights the benefits of creating an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) network, which would help power the nation and reduce the need for landfill. An EfW plant converts waste into usable energy. Sewage, domestic, commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste (which currently accounts for 36 per cent of waste) can all be used in the processes, as long as they are combustible or biodegradable. A thermal EfW plant treats waste in the same way that a coal-fired power station treats coal.

Accurate statistics for total waste are hard to come by in the UK, but latest figures show the country generates 307 million tonnes of waste annually, or enough to fill the Albert Hall every two hours. Defra estimates 46.4 million tonnes of that was 'household and similar waste', with 60 per cent of this sent to landfill, 34 per cent recycled and six per cent incinerated. According to statistics, none of this resource was used as fuel in EfW plants. Is your site generating Energy from Waste? What are your views on the best ways to reduce energy use?

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