Suffolk Energy-From-Waste Facility Annual Report 2016
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Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility 2016 annual report 2 contents Foreword 4 Introduction 6 Managing Suffolk’s waste 8 Managing environmental performance 14 Our people and community 22 3 foreword A second year in operation and I’m delighted to say it has been another successful one. Suffolk’s energy‑from‑waste facility continues to save the county council £8 million each year compared to landfilling and is on target to save the expected £350 million over the 25‑year contract. We are no longer landfilling our waste, instead we are putting it to good use by using it to generate electricity for 42,000 homes, which I am extremely proud of. I had great pleasure in accompanying the Defra Minister Dr Thérèse Coffey to site in September along with the Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) to talk about how we manage waste in Suffolk through our recycling collections. Dr Coffey saw how the energy‑from‑waste facility processes Suffolk’s waste by touring the facility and spending time in the visitor centre. It’s certainly been a year for awards and recognition – congratulations to SUEZ for being recognised as an award‑winning team in terms of performance, team work, staff welfare and safety to name just a few attributes. Another achievement for all involved has been recognition for the facility’s architectural design through two awards – one for best sustainable project in the 2016 Blueprint Awards and another with the facility being described as ‘a striking innovation in industrial architecture’ by the Civic Trust Awards. I was also very pleased that SUEZ were amongst our partners in the Suffolk Waste Partnership stand at the Suffolk Show this year. For the first time, all our waste services were represented and we could tell the whole waste story – how to reduce and reuse our waste, how to recycle both at home and at recycling centres and what happens to waste when it goes to the energy‑from‑waste facility. The visitor centre continues to be busy and we have seen an incredible number of people visit the site to date. I would strongly encourage anyone to come and take a tour of the facility, and spend time in the visitor centre and control room to see first‑hand what happens to your waste. Councillor Matthew Hicks Cabinet Member for Environment and Public Protection Suffolk County Council 4 2016, the second full year of operation, has been another successful year for the Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility. We continued to meet our aim of putting Suffolk’s waste to good use, processing over 260,000 tonnes Our education and outreach work of waste to generate over continues to play an important role 170,000 megawatt hours of electricity in helping everyone understand what for the National Grid – enough electricity happens to waste and what they can to power 42,000 homes. do to make a difference. We were pleased to welcome more visitors to our Having been recognised a number facility during 2016. Since our visitor of times in 2015 for its design and centre opened, we have welcomed environmental performance, the facility over 4,000 people and met many more continued to receive awards in 2016. at events around Suffolk – from the We were particularly proud to be Suffolk show and Latitude Festival to awarded the PEEL People’s Cup careers days in local schools. We look by the Chartered Institution of forward to meeting many more in the Wastes Management, which specifically coming years. recognises the team of people behind the facility. This was a well‑earned reward for an excellent team that has enabled Suffolk’s energy‑from‑waste facility to achieve and exceed its targets. The health and safety of all staff, Gary Mayson contractors and visitors is our priority. Chief Operating Officer – Energy SUEZ recycling and recovery UK SUEZ recycling and recovery UK actively promotes safe behaviour and awareness through the work of our dedicated health and safety teams, training courses, safety auditing and safety‑aware culture. Following a visit Paul Leighton to site at the beginning of the year, Plant Manager, the Health and Safety Executive Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility commented favourably on the positive SUEZ recycling and recovery UK health and safety culture on site, which is critical to preventing accidents, and the procedures for reporting incidents. 5 introduction About this report 2016 marked the second full year of operation for the Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility. This report is designed to provide the community and stakeholders with information about operations at the facility and its ongoing performance. In the following sections, we cover highlights from 2016, the energy‑from‑waste process, the facility’s environmental performance and our involvement with the local community, education and outreach work. We welcome feedback on this report and our performance in 2016. Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is responsible for disposing of Suffolk’s household waste, which is collected by the county’s seven district and borough councils. Together, the eight councils make up the Suffolk Waste Partnership. Their shared aim is to reduce the amount of waste produced in the county and to deal with the waste that is produced in an economic and environmentally‑friendly way. 6 SUEZ recycling and recovery UK Operations here in Suffolk sit within the energy division of SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (formerly SITA UK). The global SUEZ group It gives us access to the collective expertise accumulated across seven SUEZ works with municipalities energy‑from‑waste facilities in the UK and industry around the world, (with two more soon to come on helping them make the most stream in 2017) as well as other energy of their resources. recovery technologies. This knowledge The group has developed spans almost 30 years of electricity world‑leading expertise in generation in various forms. four areas that are seen as SUEZ recycling and recovery UK critical to the resource revolution: employs over 5,000 people. Since it management of the was established in the UK in 1988, 4 entire water cycle our company has delivered innovative and environmentally‑responsible 4 waste recycling and recovery solutions for the waste generated water treatment solutions by households and businesses. 4 consultancy services Suffolk energy‑from‑waste facility 4 promoting sustainable urban and the six (soon to be eight) other and regional development energy‑from‑waste facilities are part of a varied waste management With more than 80,000 employees infrastructure developed across working across five continents, the UK. It ranges from composting the group’s innovation and the value sites to facilities for manufacturing SUEZ companies create for clients refuse derived fuels. make us a leader in the world’s Over the course of a year, emerging circular economy. SUEZ recycling and recovery UK handles more than 10 million tonnes of waste. All the company’s diverse activities are guided by a vision to engineer a society where there is no more waste. 7 managing Suffolk’s waste 8 In this section, we explain the energy‑from‑waste process and report on our operations during 2016. We outline the volume of waste processed at the facility over the year and the amount of energy generated from this. Additionally, we report on the raw materials consumed and the by‑products from the process – including aggregate and metals. 9 The energy‑from‑waste process Reception hall Grate and boiler A large reception hall allows waste Air is blown into the bottom of vehicles to tip waste safely. Air needed the water‑cooled grate through for the combustion process is drawn into five computer‑controlled zones. the furnace from here, so that odour and The thermal energy released from dust are contained within the building. burning the waste is used to convert water to super‑heated steam. Bunker At high pressure, this steam drives a turbine to generate electricity. Waste vehicles tip their loads into a large concrete bunker, big enough to hold six days worth of waste. Bulky items, such as mattresses and sofas, go through a steam turbine shredder first. generator gas cleaning grab crane bag filters waste reception hall emissions monitoring furnace bottom ash air pollution control residue collection Control room All of the facility’s equipment, Air‑cooled condensers including the grabber which mixes After leaving the turbine, the steam the waste in the bunker, is operated goes through an air‑cooled condenser from the control room. and is condensed back to water, Control systems check that which is then treated and reused in equipment is working properly, the boiler to produce more steam. continuously monitor the combustion This closed‑loop system minimises gas and make sure the whole facility the amount of water needed. is working to maximum efficiency. Everything is monitored both automatically and manually. 10 Emission control Control of emissions starts in the furnace with good combustion control to make sure the correct proportion Bottom ash of air is supplied and temperature is maintained. Ash left on the grate after incineration is cooled and carried along a conveyor Combustion gases from the furnace are to an on‑site processing building. subject to a rigorous cleaning process. Metals are removed from the ash Nearly one‑third of the facility is for recycling. The remaining aggregate taken up with the cleaning process, is graded according to size and sent for which involves spraying activated use in building projects. carbon and lime into the flue gasses to neutralise any pollutants. Electricity Monitors at the base of the chimney Electricity is generated at 11 kilovolts. continuously check emission levels and Around three megawatts is used to if they start to rise, adjustments are power the facility, leaving around made to the cleaning process.