News in Brief - 19/11/20

SUEZ and BP to explore a decarbonised industrial hub: “net zero Teesside”

SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK and BP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to look into the possibility of a carbon capture and storage project from Energy-from-Waste (EfW).

The Net Zero Teesside Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) project aims to capture up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, the equivalent to the annual energy use of over three million UK homes.

The agreement will allow SUEZ to work on a way to capture the CO₂ emissions from one of four EfW facilities it runs in the Teesside area.

When captured, the CO₂ will be supplied to the BP run Net Zero Teesside CCUS project, to be transported and permanently held in a geological storage site beneath the North Sea.

SUEZ plans to develop a solvent based modular scheme that will capture CO₂ from EfW flue gas emissions. It hopes to install the commercial scale demonstration carbon capture plant at the company’s Tees Valley (Lines 1 and 2) facility at Haverton Hill on Teesside.

The project hopes to get rid of 90 per cent of fossil and biogenic CO₂ emissions from the EfW  plant, which will then make it carbon negative.

Andy Lane, Managing Director for Net Zero Teesside said: “This MoU demonstrates another example of the strong local commitment to decarbonise existing industry in the region. We look forward to working with SUEZ as it aims to achieve a world first with the scale-up of carbon capture technologies and application to an energy-from-waste facility.”

Acumen acquires West Yorkshire-based Chemwaste

Acumen Waste Services has acquired West Yorkshire-based hazardous waste management and environmental services business Chemwaste from Bradley Park Waste Management.

This comes as part of Acumen’s growth strategy, following the acquisition of Highspeed Ltd in 2017 and the establishment of hazardous liquid treatment capacity at Harewood Whin in 2018.

Andy Crossley, Managing Director at Acumen said: “We’re pleased to have completed the purchase of Chemwaste, whose service offerings, locations and assets will complement the wider Acumen business.

“We look forward to integrating the business to provide service and value enhancements to our customers.”

Simon Towers, Director Bradley Park Waste Management commented: “We’re delighted to have completed the divestment of Chemwaste to Acumen. Acumen are a leading provider in this space and are therefore well placed to ensure the continued success of the business.”

A group of Yorkshire advisers have voiced their support of the transaction including Kaira Clarehugh and Gina Rhodes of Clarion Solicitors in Leeds and Justine Stalker and Chris Holden of Saffery Champness in Harrogate.

Acumen originally began in 1994 focusing on hazardous and difficult, solid and liquid waste markets but it has expanded over the years to include services from all areas of waste management.

South East Wales residents urged to recycle unused electricals

Wastesavers is partnering with Material Focus Recycle Your Electricals to promote donating  unwanted electrical items to their reuse shops in South East Wales.

Recent government statistics have shown that waste electricals are one of the biggest waste streams in the UK. In 2019, more than 783 tonnes of waste electrical items were collected in Newport alone.

Alun Harries, charity manager with Wastesavers said: "We really hope this campaign will spur residents to clear out unwanted electrical items from their homes. Remember, anything with a plug, cable or battery can be reused or recycled."

"Take hi-fi speakers for example," Harries explains. "We estimate that more than 5,000 households in Newport have been holding on to unused hi-fi speakers for over a decade! In RCT we estimate its 8,000 households. If you're not going to use them donate them to the Reuse Centre or the Tip Shop."

To combat this increasingly challenging issue, Material Focus has provided Wastesavers with funding for new jobs in testing and processing used electrical items.

Wastesavers hopes this financial boost will help these positions become self-financing from the sale of items collected.

"This is not just about keeping items out of landfill," Harries explains. "The collection and testing of old electricals also provides volunteering opportunities that can lead to paid jobs. More than 40 per cent of Wastesavers charity staff were volunteers with our organisation first."

North London boroughs receive funding boost for recycling projects

Residents of Camden, Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest have received funding from the Borough Recycling Fund for projects that will increase recycling rates across North London.

The Borough Recycling Fund, a joint initiative of the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) and Biffa, allocated around £23,000 to Camden, around £34,000 to Hackney, £13,200 to Haringey and £8,500 to Waltham Forest., which will go towards projects that aim to tackle obstacles to recycling across North London.

Camden will put some of the funding towards testing new lids for recycling bins to act as a deterrent for dumping non-recyclable waste. The borough will also improve signage to communicate what can and cannot be recycled, as well as implement digital technology to provide feedback to residents.

Hackney will aim to address the issue of food waste contamination in mixed dry recycling by promoting its food waste service, as well as supporting a council investment in reverse recycling bin lids.

Haringey will aim to improve its digital outreach with a campaign that targets 75,000 households, informing them about what can and cannot be put into mixed recycling bins. The information will be translated into the six most commonly-spoken languages in the borough.

Waltham Forest will fund training for faith and religious leaders to become recycling ambassadors, so they can educate and inform their communities about the importance of recycling.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Chair of NLWA, said: “NLWA set up the Borough Recycling Fund with our contractor Biffa to help support the Boroughs develop and trial innovative projects aimed at reducing barriers to recycling as well as help prevent the contamination of valuable recyclable materials.

“We were convinced by Camden, Hackney, Haringey and Waltham Forest’s proposals that their project will help in this vital endeavour.”