Waste Arisings — Energy Recovery Implications for a Traditional South Wales Valley Region

This paper contains the results of a waste classification analysis conducted in a South Wales unitary authority and a traditional industrial community. It was found that on average each household in this area produced 19.4 kg of waste per week. Comparisons have been made with results of a similar survey in a more rural part of the UK and with the accepted UK national average data. The results have been used together with the government's waste management legislation to predict future waste blends and their energy characteristics. Waste legislation demands an increase to material recovery and thermal treatment. Using this district as a case study, for 33% material recovery in 2020 this region will be required to increase recycling or composting from under 4,000 to almost 40,000 tonnes of municipal waste. To comply with the landfill directive a further 66,000 tonnes will have to be used in thermal conversion projects. Material recovery removes certain fractions from the waste stream. The subsequent composition of waste downstream of material recovery will contain less biodegradable matter, most specifically paper which will reduce by over a half, and other components will rise in prominence. As a consequence the waste's energy content will rise slightly but landfill gas generation rate together with the amount landfilled will fall so that within 20 years landfill gas emissions could fall by as much as 40%.