Report calls recycling a waste of energy

Recycling paper and plastic consumes more energy and resources than it saves, according to new report from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The report, A Wasted Opportunity, calls on the UK government to make energy-from-waste (EfW) plants a key component of its renewable energy portfolio. Currently, legislation regards EfW plants as waste-treatment instead of energy-generation plants.

The study laments that energy-from-waste plants are "regarded as a less-than desirable" option than recycling.

"Is recycling always the best solution? Not if there's no demand for the recycled materials. Not if more energy is consumed and more greenhouse gases are emitted in the recycling process than would be used to manufacture a new product. Not if we don’t actually recycle but instead just sort the waste into piles of different materials and then ship those piles overseas with no control over what happens to them after that," the report said.

Recycling is an effective method to deal with metal waste, the report said. And many EfW plants can't treat glass or other inert materials.

But it's easy and cost-effective to use many other types of waste to provide electricity, heat or fuels, according to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Plastic, especially, has a high energy content.

The UK is using some, but not enough, waste-to-energy plants to deal with its 310 million metric tons of waste each year, the report said.

By 2005 19 EfW plants were in operation, with 11 in various stages of development. Almost all the plants use combustion to treat waste, but other methods include gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion.

Northampton, UK-based developer Waste Recycling Group operates one of the largest energy-from-waste facilities in the country (see Waste Recycling Group acquires UK recycler). The Kent facility has a capacity of 500,000 metric tons a year and produces 35 megawatts of power, which is enough to power 60,000 homes. Its 150,000-metric ton Nottingham facility generates about 27 MW of energy from waste. The company has received approval to develop a third energy-from-waste facility in Hull with a capacity of 240,000 metric tons a year.

Spain’s Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (MCE:FCC.MC) saw high value in WRG, purchasing it for £1.4 billion in 2006.

The report is available here.

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