The UK government invested £30 million in a seven-year research programme on new treatment technologies for municipal waste.
That research is now complete and ICE has produced a dedicated issue (164 WR3) of its Waste and Resource Management journal to disseminate the results.
According to Peter Calliafas, founding chair of the programme’s advisory committee, ‘One of the key drivers of waste management policy is the EU landfill directive’. This directive requires a huge reduction in the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill to 35% of 1995 levels by 2016. Any remaining waste that is disposed of this way will also need to be pre-treated.
The eight papers in the issue report the outcomes of the government’s ‘new technologies demonstrator programme’. This programme was established in 2003 to encourage investment in pilot plants to showcase and potentially de-risk new methods of treatment for biodegradable municipal waste. A total of seven plants became operational during the programme, with technologies ranging from aerobic and anaerobic digestion to in-vessel composting, mechanical heat treatment, gasification and pyrolysis.
‘The information contained in this landmark volume will be of immense value to all those involved in the development, procurement and operation of waste management facilities,’ says Calliafas.
For further information please contact the ICE Proceedings editor Simon Fullalove on +44 (0)20 7665 2448 or email editor@ice.org.uk.