The Confederation of European Waste to Energy Plants (CEWEP) has said new or extended capacity of energy from waste plants should “only take place in well justified cases, in full respect of the waste hierarchy”.
CEWEP has members across the EU and in Switzerland, Turkey and the UK
The confederation —whose members include FCC, Urbaser and Viridor —said in a statement yesterday (8 February) that it’s members are “very carefully assessing the market before making any investment decisions”.
This comes as CWEP says that in recent years accusations of a “lock-in” effect has often come up, suggesting that once a EfW plants are built, the surrounding regions will be inclined to recycle less and instead bring more waste to the plant.
In response to that, CEWEP reiterates its support for responsible capacity planning that makes sure that no so-called “lock-in effect” is created.
Capacity
The Confederation added: “There is currently no overcapacity of WtE [waste to energy] on the European level. Nevertheless, on the local level there is sometimes more WtE capacity available than domestically needed. This is due to historical decisions based on forecasts for increased waste generation and the fact that WtE is an important tool for landfill diversion and sustainable local energy production, roles that remain important today.”
It added that EU waste law which sets targets for source separation and recycling has become a “game-changer” for waste treatment capacity planning.
“Better forecasts can now be made for the capacities needed to treat residual waste”
“While it was difficult to have a good overview in the past, better forecasts can now be made for the capacities needed to treat the residual waste,” it added.
Investors
CWEP stated that public and private investors have the right tools to make safe and sustainable investments, as there is legislation in place which “provides them with solid information and predictability of what is and will be available as feedstock for their investment”.
It adds that efforts for waste prevention, source separation and recycling as well as landfill diversion as set in the EU waste targets “must be considered appropriately in the national/regional waste management plans, which are the basis for permits for WtE”.
However, it is important to note that within the circular economy WtE capacity needs can only be judged by taking the whole feedstock into account. This is residual municipal waste as well as commercial and industrial waste.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
