Waste management in Europe

Changing the face of waste on By judicious use of five waste transfer stations and an energy from waste plant on one of the largest of the , the government of Mallorca is altering the landscape of waste management on the island and is no longer reliant on several landfill sites for the disposal of municipal waste. Tim Byrne reports.

Tim Byrne planning permission and the proximity used to rely solely on the use of landfills for onwards. The refuse collection vehicles Specialist in waste collection principle being taken into account. the disposal of municipal waste. reverse to the edge of the hopper situated in Mediterranean countries The new EfW facility consists of two Bottom ash from the incineration process above the static compactor and discharge their Babcock Volund roller type grates to handle is employed in the construction sector and is load into it. municipal solid waste with a capacity of crushed to a type two specification material The static compactor uses 40yd roll-on- ollowing an initial contract 18.75 tonnes an hour. for use in construction/building projects. off containers, again of the Marrel type, so signed in 1992 between the In 2010, the EfW plant was expanded with The air pollution control residues are they can hold an approximate net payload of of Mallorca (government the commissioning of two Hitachi Zosen disposed of on site at a specially designed around 25 tonnes of municipal waste. of Mallorca) and waste Inova water cooled moving grates which each landfill and in special cells where it is Once the waste has been compressed management specialist, Tirme SA, have a throughput of 30 tonnes per hour. covered in mortar to prevent volatile organic into them, the containers are hermetic and Mallorca can now boast a modern, A new tipping hall was constructed for the compounds or fugitives from being released totally sealed. These systems have since Fintegrated waste management system. additional two lines and the expansion means from the ashes been implemented in the UK by FCC in The contract includes the operation the plant can now deal with municipal and Tirme SA decided, as a result of tests across partnership with Urbaser at Severn Waste in and management of five waste transfer commercial waste, biomass, sewage sludge other EU member states about air pollution Worcestershire. stations sited around the island for the local and waste tyres of small quantities. control residues arising from EfW plants, to As part of a separate contract, the municipalities to deliver their municipal solid The facility also supplies electricity to bury the incinerator bottom ash mixed in transportation of the municipal waste from waste in refuse collection vehicles for further the national grid through a Mitsubishi and mortar in a hazardous lined landfill on site. the five transfer stations around Mallorca to transhipment and subsequent disposal. Siemens turbine. This takes care of issues which surround the the EfW facility Son Reus was signed with The waste transfer stations are dotted The overall throughput of the EfW facility air pollution control residues produced from Alcudia SA. around the island at the towns of Calvia, is now 800,000 tonnes per annum and since EfW plants. This company uses a semi-trailer fitted Manacor, Binisalem, Alcudia and Campus. the plant’s expansion, has ended the use of with hook loader equipment which is then When the contract first began, Mallorca landfill for municipal and commercial waste Waste collection pulled by a tractor unit fitted with the was still using several landfill sites: including on the island of Mallorca. As with most areas in , waste is necessary hydraulics to operate the hook one close to the town of Soller on the West Once the initial construction phase was collected at night, but the EfW facility is loader system fitted to the semi-trailer. coast of the island which served Palma and implemented in 1994, FCC Environment operational 24 hours a day and 365 days a Once one compaction container is full, one situated near Manacor on the East coast bought shares into the facility and won the year while the transfer stations are open also it is released from the aperture of the static which now mostly only handles construction contract to construct the new EfW facility 24 hours a day. compactor and is then mechanically moved and demolition (C&D) waste. together with construction partner, Dragados, In the daytime smaller quantities of waste on to a traverse moving frame. When the new contract began with Tirme and then handed the operation concession are collected from small private contractors The full container will move to the right SA, a planning application had already been back to Tirme SA which named the new along with collections of municipal waste. while another empty roll-on-off container will submitted to design, build and operate a new facility Son Reus. It was handed over to Tirme Calvia 2000 or EMCA 2002, the public move from the left and line up to the aperture. waste to energy (EfW) facility for Mallorca. as a turnkey facility. company provides the waste collection service It will be fixed in-situ for further loading The projected site was next to the existing FCC was also involved in building the new in Calvia, e.g. Palma Nova, Magaluf, etc, while from above from the refuse collection vehicles landfill site in Soller. This proposal was waste transfer stations and used the Marrel EMCA provides the waste collection service discharging their loads into the hopper. put to the Consell of Mallorca on the basis static compactor design to ensure compliance in Port de Pollenca in the North of the Island. Sometimes the refuse collection vehicles have of changing legislation regarding the EU with the loading of municipal waste into the Both Calvia and EMCA 2002 operate to wait up to 10 minutes while an exchange Landfill directive and future and forthcoming compactor type hermetic enclosed roll-on-off an early morning collection service which container is fitted in situ from the full one. legislation relating to the diversion of waste containers. continues to mid-morning/early afternoon for By using the five transfer stations on from landfill. The new transfer stations were built the collection of municipal solid waste, while the island efficiently, the administration is and commissioned ready for when Son FCC provides an afternoon and night waste successfully reducing the number of vehicle The mechanics Reus was commissioned in 1996 and collection service in Santanyi. movements to the EfW plant by more than The new EfW plant was built next to the became operational in 1997. Before this, the The bulk of the municipal waste deliveries 66%, proving the efficacy of the waste transfer existing landfill site. This involved both municipalities across the island of Mallorca relate to night-time collection from 10pm system. RWW

8 April 25 2013 www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk Recycling&WASTE WORLD