17 October: Weekly News Bulletin

Is the Energy from Waste sector really the 'dirtiest' form of power in the UK? We hear about the sector's thoughts, plus many more news stories in this week's EfW Net news bulletin.
17 October: Weekly News Bulletin
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Is the Energy from Waste sector really the 'dirtiest' form of power in the UK? We hear about the sector's thoughts, plus many more news stories in this week's EfW Net news bulletin.

Industry has responded to a BBC study claiming EfW is the ‘dirtiest' form of power

The biggest news this week is undoubtedly the BBC’s study in Energy from Waste. The broadcasting house described EfW as the ‘dirtiest’ form of power after the final UK coal mine closed last month after finding that waste incineration produces the most CO2 per unit of energy. However, the industry has responded to the report, arguing that it does not reveal the whole picture. One argument is that EfW isn’t just a power provider but a waste management service. The Chartered Institute of Wastes Management said that the sector’s first function is “to manage, treat and dispose society’s wastes in order to protect human health and the environment” which the report ignored. 

GHNF awards £22 million in funding to EfW heat networks 

The Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) has awarded £20 million to Energy from Waste projects in Loughborough (Encyclis Newhurst ERF) and Birkenhead (Wirral borough council), to help with their heat network efforts. A further £2 million has been given to a heat network in Portsmouth that harnesses heat from a local reservoir. The money will be used for commercialisation and construction of the projects. So far this year, the capital grant programme has committed a total of £80.6 million in investment to networks across England, including £24.5 million to a Leeds EfW heat network in September. Minister for Energy Consumers, Miatta Fahnbulleh, commented: “By investing in new, greener heat networks, we are helping more homes and businesses across England benefit from cleaner heating – leading to lower energy bills.”

Over half of food and drink products are ‘unnecessarily’ packaged in plastic, according to research

The international packaging company DS Smith studied 25 of the most popular supermarkets across six European markets, including the UK. They found that 51% of food and drink items in UK supermarkets were wrapped in unnecessary plastic packaging. Processed food, bread, rice and cereals, dairy products, and meat and fish were amongst the foods and drinks wrapped in the most plastic. The research also found that the UK was the most reliant on plastic packaging out of the six countries studied. Miles Roberts, group chief executive at DS Smith, has said that a lot more needs to be done, including phasing out certain plastics to encourage “innovation, investment, and generate healthy competition to replace plastic.”

Network Rail has revealed plans for an initiative to boost recycling rates to 95%

Network Rail has partnered with The Green Block, a consulting group that has created a manual segregation unit (MSU), to help tackle the waste problem in train stations. Since 2020, the partnership has been trialling the MSUs at London Victoria Station, which manually sort waste on-site into different recycling streams. It is now widening the trial by implementing the units in two more London stations. Network Rail has estimated that the new MSUs will segregate and recycle 1,500 coffee cups a day across the three stations - London Victoria, London Bridge and London Waterloo. So make sure you check them out when you're next there.

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