Chamber UK’s Post

🌍 Waste Incineration: The UK's New Coal? The BBC's latest report highlights a staggering shift—burning household waste now rivals coal as the UK’s dirtiest energy source. With incinerators on the rise, we face a tough question: are we trading one environmental crisis for another? Is it time to rethink "green" waste solutions? How can we innovate beyond incineration to truly reduce our carbon footprint? 🔗 Read more here What are your thoughts on sustainable waste management? #Sustainability #WasteManagement #ClimateAction

Positive to see just before New Year's Day the announcement from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on plans for stricter rules for new waste incinerators, meaning that developers will need to show any new projects will reduce non-recyclable waste going to landfill or enable the replacement of older power plants; plus, new incincerators must be #CCUS ready. This shift builds upon the analysis we did for our second National Infrastructure Assessment, and draws a similar conclusion to that which we arrived at: that we have sufficient energy-from-waste capacity and that stronger incentives are neeed to boost investment in the future recycling capacity that is needed, including banning future #EfW capacity that does not include carbon capture and storage. Details here: https://lnkd.in/eh5PRWYh

Between 2010 and 2022, the quantity of rubbish-related figures published by Downing Street fell by 6% each year, hindering progress. Published by the Copper Sustainability Partnership [#CuSP], overall datasets released by the #Government over an 11 year period fell by 50%, with just 12 shared publicly in 2022 compared with 30 in 2010. During this time, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs saw its budget slashed, with more than half of funds dedicated to environmental protection removed. #Austerity which continued throughout the decade continued to obstruct large scale research projects, which could have prevented trials of new #waste and #recycling programmes and technologies. Several steps were also taken to stimulate economic growth at the expense of the climate, including a 2013 directive from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills which stipulated regulators should avoid imposing ‘unnecessary burdens on businesses.’ Meanwhile, the UK’s exit from the #EU in 2019 led to widely reported changes in environmental standards, including waste management reporting. ‘The former government has set a dangerous precedent by relaxing its vigilance in regard to environmental reporting. Not only do these reports provide valuable insights that inform waste management policy, but they also hold businesses to account over poor waste treatment practices,’ said Oliver Lawton, Co-founder of CuSP and Managing Director of Lawton Tubes. ‘The diversion of funding away from environmental research and protection means businesses from some of the highest-polluting sectors are now under less scrutiny, derailing the progress that has been made by others to decarbonise.’ ‘Over the last decade the #UK has moved away from the #European community in its commitment to corporate #sustainability, with funding cut for research and regulators given diminished powers,’ added Andrew Surtees, Co-founder of CuSP and Head of Sales at Mueller Europe. ‘In the construction industry, we have seen new products that are neither made with recycled materials nor recycled at the end of their lifecycle pushed by manufacturers, adding to already excessive levels of waste emissions at a time when the sector is falling further behind in its #netzero commitments. The #Labour government’s pledge to minimise waste is welcome but must be backed up by decisive action, starting with a thorough review of the current state of waste and recycling in industries like construction that have long been able to escape scrutiny.’

🚮 Big Changes in Waste Management Coming to England in April 2025! Starting April 2025, new rules will require the separation of food waste and a phased reduction in General Waste and Mixed Recycling services. Plus, the landfill tax will increase to £126.15. These changes are crucial for environmental stewardship, but they will impact your operations and costs. Although ERA Group Waste & Recycling Specialist Daniel Howells suggests that businesses that adapt can thrive amidst these changes. Find out more in our latest article below. #ERAGroup #ValueThroughInsight #WasteManagement https://lnkd.in/dMKv5Gf7

Great article looking at the complexity of waste, energy, recycling and greenhouse gas production.

📢 The UK Government has announced a crack down on waste incinerators with stricter standards for new builds following the release of a capacity note on residual waste infrastructure. 🏭 Planning approval for new waste incinerators will only be granted if strict new local and environmental conditions are met, ensuring that projects ‘maximise efficiency and support the delivery of economic growth, net zero and the move to a circular economy.’ ♻️ Developers will now have to demonstrate that their projects help lower the amount of non-recyclable waste sent to landfill or enable the replacement of older, less efficient plants, as well as ensuring that they are Carbon Capture ready. New incinerators will also have to meet existing standards on air pollution and other environmental impacts to receive an environmental permit. 💬 Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh CBE MP said “For far too long, the nation has seen its recycling rates stagnate and relied on burning household waste, rather than supporting communities to keep resources in use for longer…That ends today, with clear conditions for new energy from waste plants – they must be efficient and support net zero and our economic growth mission, before they can get the backing needed to be built.” 🗑️ The RDF Industry Group supports the move towards tougher regulations on new Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities. While EfW is still an important method for managing waste while simultaneously creating energy, limiting the development of further waste incinerator plants will help manage national waste treatment capacity, avoiding stranded assets in a low waste future and also ensuring recycling is prioritised over incineration and landfill, in line with the waste hierarchy. 👉 For the press release: https://lnkd.in/e-uTDaVu. 👉 For the capacity note: https://lnkd.in/e3ajr4WU #RDF #SRF #alternativefuels #wastederivedfuel #refusederivedfuel #wastemanagement #energyfromwaste #EfW #WDF #CCS #carboncapture

The lessons from South Australia’s approach to recycling and resource recovery are clear- use the landfill levy to drive the market conditions for recycling, hypothecate the levy to infrastructure, make someone responsible for resource recovery (other than the EPA; which should be the “cop on the beat”) and prioritise government interventions which matter. Simple and effective.

Dear journalists - please stop repeating the industry talking point 'incinerators burn 'non-recyclable waste'. Waste composition studies conducted by councils, and organizations like Zero Waste Scotland consistently find that up to half of residual household waste is comprised of recyclable materials. A correct statement would be, 'incinerators burn recyclable, and non-recyclable waste' or 'waste not destined for recycling'. https://lnkd.in/de2uMvew David Burrows, Kimberley Pratt, Helena Horton, Zoe Applegate, Laurence Cawley. #efw #circulareconomy

📢 Open Letter Calls on New Government to Ban New Incinerators The United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), along with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and 42 other organisations, has published an urgent open letter today calling for a ban on new incineration capacity. Sent to Environment Secretary Steve Reed and Circular Economy Minister Mary Creagh, the letter applauds the Government's commitment to a zero waste economy. However, it emphasises the need to ensure waste incineration does not hinder recycling improvements and waste reduction efforts. Key points from the letter: - England currently has 22 million tonnes of incineration capacity, with nearly 5 million tonnes under construction. - This capacity already exceeds the 15.5 million tonnes projected to be available for incineration by 2030, aligning with the Government’s target to halve residual waste per capita by 2042. - Construction of an additional 10 million tonnes of capacity would violate the waste management hierarchy. Shlomo Dowen, National Coordinator of UKWIN, highlights: “Wales and Scotland saw improved recycling rates after introducing a moratorium on new incineration capacity in 2021. England must follow suit to enhance recycling efforts.” This letter aligns with the Climate Change Committee’s call for a moratorium on new Energy from Waste incineration capacity, emphasizing the high carbon intensity of energy from incineration compared to gas and coal. A ban on new incineration capacity would support Labour’s commitment to zero-carbon electricity by 2030. 🔗 Read the full letter https://lnkd.in/ewW9gpkH

Thought of the Day Ah, the great waste-to-energy debate. Currently, the UK operates 52 incinerators, a number that's rising. Despite these facilities contributing a mere 3.1% of the nation’s power needs, their environmental toll is staggering. Ireland’s largest incinerator, now gearing up to handle and extra 600,000 tons a year, that's double its initial capacity, is equally alarming. This all stems from a post-WWII shift when packaging waste exploded alongside the rise of supermarkets. We once burned our rubbish in “destructors” until we wised up to the dangers and turned to landfills. But as those filled up, the next “bright idea” emerged: burn it for energy. Extract the calorific value from our waste, generate steam, power our homes........problem solved, right? Not quite. Waste incineration, while addressing two issues, waste and reducing fossil fuels, has only fuelled another: our addiction to single-use, pointless packaging. We’re witnessing the classic case of unintended consequences, cloaked in the language of sustainability. Big oil knows exactly what it’s doing. They’ve successfully dressed this up as virtue signalling, making the public believe they're leading a shift away from fossil fuels. But what’s actually burning in those incinerators? Even more refined fossil fuels. And we, like lemmings, keep marching forward. What we need isn’t just another energy “solution.” We need a systemic shift in our relationship with single-use, throwaway culture. This change won’t come easy, and it won’t come overnight. NGOs are pushing for reuse systems, but those remain rare exceptions. Packaging restrictions, real government intervention......that’s what’s missing. I don’t pretend to have all or any of the answers, but one thing is clear: we can’t incinerate our way out of this mess. We’ve fallen too deep into the rabbit hole, and there’s no easy path back. But maybe the way forward starts by recognising how we got here, pushed along by relentless advertising and the consumerism it breeds. Now, it’s up to us to stop letting industry set the terms of our destruction. #BurningIssue #WasteToEnergyCrisis #SingleUseSolution #CircularEconomyNow #SystemicChange #EndSingleUse #RethinkWaste #SustainableFuture #PackagingRevolution #PowerOfReuse #ZeroWasteGoals #BeyondFossilFuels #GreenTransformation #WasteNotWantNot #TakeActionNow