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BIOWASTE in a CIRCULAR ECONOMY Organics Recycling in a Circular Economy a Biowaste Strategy from ESA

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BIOWASTE in a CIRCULAR ECONOMY Organics Recycling in a Circular Economy a Biowaste Strategy from ESA Foreword Exciting, yet challenging times lie ahead for the ESA believes that a large part of the solution biowaste treatment industry. We have recently lies in improved understanding of the value of seen a justified outcry over the scale of food biowaste-derived outputs. The biowaste sector waste generated both in the UK and beyond. needs to move beyond landfill diversion that is This is driving new efforts above all to achieved through blunt regulatory fixes, to prevent food waste but also to then a more product driven process that maximise the value from that truly values the outputs from which inevitably remains. biowaste treatments in line New proposals from with the biowaste hierarchy. Brussels are shaking up the Value and quality should regulatory framework and be the focus, driving accentuating the debate food and green waste over what we do with the out of landfills so it waste that is collected can be used to grow and diverted from food and plants in our landfills. fields and gardens more sustainably, as well At the same time, the as developing new and industry is faced with innovative products that a range of sometimes can help boost the so called overlapping challenges. These ‘bioeconomy’. This is the vision include inconsistent and quickly of ESA’s Biotreatment Strategy. changing regulations, a lack of suitable feedstock opportunities and a severe squeeze on local authority budgets, all of which make life increasingly difficult for operators. These David Palmer-Jones challenges should not be taken lightly. Chairman, ESA 2 CIRCULAR ORGANICS: BIOWASTE IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY Organics Recycling in a Circular Economy A Biowaste Strategy from ESA Introduction How to achieve a more circular economy has recycling industry in unlocking the benefits of received considerable attention in waste and biowaste and moving towards a more circular resource management policy debate over economy. the last few years, highlighting especially the benefits and challenges of treating waste as a The Strategy identifies 5 key barriers to achieving resource. However, the debate often concerns this: the technical components of a circular economy such as plastics, metal, and electronic waste 1 Failure to identify the full potential of among others. At the same time, about 40-50 % biowaste; of our household bins consist of biowaste1, an organic nutrient and potential energy source, 2 Uncertainty over feedstock security; which has received less attention until very recently. 3 Inadequate feedstock quality drivers; Biowaste as a resource has been acknowledged 4 Unclear waste hierarchy for biowaste; as part of the UK Government’s renewable energy policy by providing green energy and 5 Increasingly complex and onerous policies using it to mitigate climate change. However, and regulations. there are also clear benefits from using organic matter and nutrients in supporting ecosystem It also presents concrete actions on how these services and benefiting sustainable farming. In barriers might be tackled, involving stakeholders addition, all these policies and feedstock across the supply chain. hold, as yet, untapped potential to drive innovation by stimulating The message from this strategy is emerging sectors within the clear: in order to move towards ‘bioeconomy’. a more circular economy for biowaste, we need to take ESA’s members are uniquely the next step beyond landfill placed to add value to this diversion to focus on the full debate as they collect, value chain of biowastes and consolidate, treat, and make biotreatments. energy and products from waste, covering a substantial element of Quality and confidence are the the sustainable circle of biowaste. key words in this new, product- driven phase, one which can only be The purpose of this strategy is to seek achieved by all partners in the supply to explore and address the main chain working together. challenges faced by the organics 1 The Waste Framework Directive’s definition of biowaste is: “biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, restaurants, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food processing plants”. 3 Image 1: Biotreatment Circular Economy Diagram Source: Environmental Services Association (ESA) From Biowaste to Resource Biodegradable waste arises from agriculture, and drink waste from households in the UK is sewage and waste from households and industry. still considered avoidable (edible, rather than say This report focuses in particular on waste from unavoidable like banana peel)2. To address the households and industry, but many of the food waste issue on the European level, the EU messages can be applied to both agriculture and has recently introduced a draft legislative package sewage. which includes a 30% aspirational food waste reduction target by 2025. Biowaste prevention WRAP is doing important work with its “Love According to WRAP, in the three years from Food, Hate Waste” campaign, for example, 2009 – 2012, 1.1 million tonnes of food waste working with the packaging industry, local were prevented (enough to fill Wembley authorities and consumers to highlight the stadium). However, 4.2 million tonnes of food benefits of packaging in preserving food. 2 WRAP (November 2013), Household Food and Drink Waste in the United Kingdom 2012, http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/hhfdw-2012-main.pdf.pdf, p3 4 CIRCULAR ORGANICS: BIOWASTE IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY Recent funding cuts have however put pressure waste prevention or local recycling. The question on this initiative and similar programmes, which is: which problem are we trying to solve? This risks limiting their impact and/or their sustained deserves further research and analysis. delivery. Diversion of near or on date food to food banks has also been an increasing trend. Animal Feed The retail industry’s ‘Courtauld 3 Commitment’ Using food waste, where possible, as animal included a waste prevention target of 5% by 2015, feed, conforms to a higher element of the waste which is a positive step in the right direction. hierarchy and should be more environmentally One example of its delivery is retailers across the friendly than disposal, recovery or recycling. sector being advised to use “best before” instead Currently, it is illegal to feed farm animals with of “use by” dates more widely, and to make sure catering food waste, but carefully selected that food close to its “use by” date that cannot be foodstuff from bakers, retailers and confectioners sold reaches food banks and food charities. can be used. Organisations such as ‘The Pig Idea’ have recently popularised the suggestion that all In addition, more can be done earlier in the source separated food waste should be allowed supply chain at farms and by manufacturers, as pig feed. However, the Environment Agency something which has attracted attention in (EA) and the Animal Health and Veterinary reports from the House of Lords, the Global Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), as well as pig Food Security Programme and the Institution of industry groups such as BPEX, are worried about Mechanical Engineers3 among others. the food safety aspects and the potential risks to animals and human health. The important thing is Finally, there are different views on the making sure the food is safe and suitable for farm environmental benefits and burdens of home animals, through better segregation at source composting. This can be seen as another form of between animal and plant-derived materials. Image 2: Weight of household waste in 2012 by food and drink, split by avoidability (in million tonnes): Source: Household Food and Drink Waste in the United Kingdom 2012, WRAP, November 2013, page 31 3 Institution of Mechanical Engineers (January 2013),Global food, waste not, want not, Global Food Security (2013), Food waste within global food systems, House of Lords, The European Union Committee (April 2014),Counting the Cost of Food Waste: EU Food Waste, Prevention. 5 Brief overview of the main biotreatments in the UK For biowaste that cannot be prevented, Composting, Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Anaerobic digestion (AD) and Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) are the three main biotreatment Anaerobic Digestion (AD) technology treats the processes currently employed when measured in organic waste in an environment where oxygen terms of tonnages treated. Other treatments such as is substantially absent and in doing so enables fermentation are emerging as interesting options for the creation of a useful high energy content the future. gas and agriculturally useful digestate. Most household and commercial waste feedstock AD plants operating in the UK today receive Composting separately collected food waste, although Open Air Windrow (OAW) is today the biggest some technology types can accommodate a biowaste treatment type by tonnage in the proportion of green waste. Some facilities are UK, taking green waste exclusively. In-Vessel linked to MBT plants and treat the generally Composting (IVC) takes both mixed food and mechanically separated organic output in an garden waste, and separately collected food AD plant. The solid/liquid by-product of which waste. The OAW activity generally takes place can then get sent as compost or compost like in an open air facility, while IVC is primarily in output (CLO) to land for land maintenance or an enclosed facility in compliance with Animal restoration after further treatment. AD digestate By-Products legislation and operating in a more output can be presented in a whole digestate enclosed environment. The former is generally form or in the form of separated fibre and liquor less costly to build and operate but the latter fractions. Due to the relatively immature market can enable food and green waste to be collected for digestate, WRAP figures show that in 2012 together, allowing in some circumstances a more only 24% of whole digestate from commercial cost effective system compared to separate AD sites (sites accepting waste for a gate fee) food and green waste collections. Neither OAW was sold off site as a product whilst 48% was nor IVC treatment produces usable energy rich given away free of charge or deployed at a cost biogas, and IVC generally requires more energy to the producer.
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