"People can reduce their ‘methane footprints’ simply by throwing away less food, but to make significant cuts in methane emissions we encourage local authorities to consider the whole spectrum of waste recovery techniques"
David Singh, Managing Director of Global Renewables
Manchester, England, UK: Global Renewables, recently issued an estimate of the environmental impact of sending 3.9 million tonnes of food to landfill each year. The company urges people to consider their ‘methane footprint’ and local authorities to divert more waste from landfill.
According to the company, 58 per cent of household waste is sent to landfill where it breaks down anaerobically and emits methane, a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more harmful than CO2. While some of this gas is captured in landfill, at least half (93,000 tonnes in the UK) escapes into the atmosphere, making the same contribution to global warming as 3.8 million flights to New York according to Global Renewables.
Taking the 21 times multiplier into account, this suggests that 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent is released from food waste in UK landfills each year.
Much of the climate change debate has centred on carbon emissions, but with methane deemed responsible for around 20 per cent of post-industrial global warming, Global Renewables is urging the public and local authorities to consider the impact of needlessly sending such large amounts of food waste to landfill.
Managing Director of Global Renewables, David Singh, said:
“People can reduce their ‘methane footprints’ simply by throwing away less food, but to make significant cuts in methane emissions we encourage local authorities to consider the whole spectrum of waste recovery techniques - some of which actually offset total emissions of carbon equivalents.”
The company says that mechanical and biological treatment of waste (MBT) is an alternative that can have a positive impact on the environment. Global Renewables’ own MBT system - called UR-3R (Urban Resource: Reduction, Recovery and Recycling) Process® - has a Greenhouse Gas Emissions rating compared to landfill of (minus)0.24 tonnes of CO2 generated per tonne of mixed waste.
If the 6.7 million tonnes of food that is thrown away each year was treated with this process, not only would food waste emit negligible amounts of methane, but the process would offset total UK CO2 emissions by 1.6 million tonnes, says Global Renewables.
The UR-3R Process® does this by reclaiming additional recyclables from the waste stream and transforming the remaining organic fraction into renewable energy and a high quality compost product.
Lancashire County Council is already introducing the UR-3R Process® to treat its waste, making Lancashire one of the greenest counties in the UK for waste management. However, 11 per cent of waste in England and Wales is incinerated and while this process won’t emit methane, it does produce, hazardous residues as part of its flue gas cleaning. What’s more, incinerators that produce electricity actually emit more greenhouse gases than gas fired power stations, according to Global Renewables.
"Despite this, Britain may soon see the creation of more incinerators as MEPs recently voted to class incineration as a ‘recovery’ operation rather than ‘waste disposal’, thus promoting its use across Europe", says Global Renewables.
As well as the two state-of-the-art UR-3R® facilities being developed in Lancashire, Global Renewables also owns and operates an urban waste treatment facility incorporating the UR-3R Process® at Eastern Creek, Sydney.
Further information
Global Renewables’ parent company, GRD Limited, has recently appointed Gleacher Shacklock LLP to secure an enabling investor or partner for Global Renewables’ UK business, including its interest in the landmark Lancashire PFI Project that is worth £2 billion in revenue.
Global Renewables web site: www.globalrenewables.co.uk .
Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council, as part of the Lancashire Waste Partnership, have worked together to procure a 25 year waste treatment contract supported by £90m of PFI credits. This contract with Global Renewables will deliver state-of-the-art waste treatment technologies to recover waste rather than landfill it.