PRESENTATION FORBradford Environment Action Trust

ON THE AUTOCLAVING OF MUNICIPAL WASTE

PRESENTATION BY RICHARD LONGCAKE AND IAN BAIRSTOW

7TH SEPTEMBER 2007

Purpose• Purpose of the presentation is to give a brief

overview of the proposal to treat 130,000 Tonnes per annum of Bradford’s Household Waste using an autoclave.

• To outline key issues and messages.

• Answer any questions.

Background

On 26th June 2007 full Council resolved to award a short term contact for treatment of municipal waste. This tender will use autoclave technology, to be located at a facility on Buck Street in Bradford, for which planning permission was obtained by the contractor in May 2006.

Location map

Buck Street aerial view

Planning application• Buck Street site planning application took 12

months to determine, • Planning decision includes several conditions

covering its operation eg limits on traffic movements

• The application included a site search and a full environmental impact assessment covering issues of odour, emissions, and traffic

• Regenerates a currently derelict brown field site• The site meets planning criteria being located in

an employment zone which is mainly industrial in nature

Wastes Management

• The council will deliver 130,000 tpa of household waste• The process will seek to divert some 75,000 tpa of BMW away

from landfill• The site will not be licensed for receipt of hazardous wastes• If hazardous wastes accidentally arrive at the site, the waste

acceptance procedures as required by the site licence will identify them, and quarantine them pending disposal as agreed with the EA

• As a result of gas and water filtration there may be a small amount of solid residue which testing may show it to be hazardous waste requiring specialised disposal

Emissions

EIA includes assessing impacts of emissions (human population), and details mitigation, main points to note are:

• All waste handling and treatment takes place inside an enclosed building with negative air pressure and airlock doors

• There are several air changes per hour via a filtration system with activated charcoal

• No waste is combusted on site – no gases• Only exhaust gases are from heat raising plant

Emissions• Maximum projected level of emissions is only 5%

of Environmental Quality Standard• Site operations will be subject to a Waste

Management Licence, issued and monitored by the EA, this covers the Human Population issues, limits will be set and monitored (see Table 2)

• The site will not be licensed for receipt of hazardous waste

TABLE 2Pollutant Metric Modelled Concentration

EQS

2000 2001 2002

Nitrogen oxides Annual mean 2.0 2.2 1.7 40 µg.m-3

Hourly Maximum 46 47 44 200 µg.m-3

Particulate material Annual mean 0.1 0.1 0.1 40 µg.m-3

Daily maximum 1.4 1.1 1.0 50 µg.m-3

Sulphur dioxide Hourly maximum 0.6 0.6 0.6 350 µg.m-3

Daily maximum 0.4 0.3 0.3 125 µg.m-3

Global carbon position• The plant will process 130,000t/pa of MSW, of

which a 20% residue, or 26,000t/pa, will go to landfill

• Avoided landfill = 104,000t/pa• One tonne of waste in a landfill degrades

anaerobically, producing green house gases in approx ratio 400 cubic metres methane and 400 cubic metres of carbon dioxide

• The plant is a net energy user at 10.5MWh – natural gas, not renewable

Global warming comparisonGlobal warming potential Tonnes / yr

Waste processed 130,000

Waste diverted from landfill 104,000

CO2 tonnes impact of landfill 39,000

CO2 impact of autoclave

CO2 tonnes saving by diversion -31,200

Energy used by autoclaves (3) 10.5 MWh

CO2 impact of gas used 7,000

Net CO2 tonnes benefit of autoclave

-24,200

Community benefit• Buck Street will create 40 new jobs located in a modern purpose built facility, with

atmospheric controls and mechanised waste handling and sortation• Will generate a community fund based on a 30p levy for each tonne of waste received -

generate £40,000/year• Site improvement, as the development brings back into use a 1.1 hectare area of long

standing derelict land