Energy from Waste and the Circular Economy

Title: Energy from Waste and the Circular Economy

Duration: 2.40 mins

Begins

Disposing of waste is a vital service, protecting us from infection and infestation. However, the UK waste industry is facing major challenges and is unsustainable. Landfill and incineration emit large amounts of CO2 and methane whilst valuable resources are being squandered.

Exporting waste is increasingly hard to justify with countries banning shipments, increasing tariffs and Coronavirus posing a potential crisis.

The ideal scenario is a net zero circular economy that conserves resources, cut CO2 emissions and increases recycling. Getting there will take time.

Developing a network of Regional Resource Recovery Clusters that combine energy from waste plants and recycling technologies would reduce carbon emissions and raise recycling rates. Integrated with heating networks and recycling plants, they would use technologies like anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis and gasification to turn waste into products and fuels. They would exploit the waste heat from incinerators, burning ways to generate electricity. And carbon capture technologies will turn CO2 into building materials and fertilisers.

Resource Recovery Clusters can produce significant environmental and economic benefits for their area. They would also attract major public investments in R&D. The Midlands has many post-industrial sites as well as the academic expertise in energy, making it an excellent area to demonstrate RRC's. Resource Recovery Clusters would unlock a massive global export opportunity for innovative waste and recycling technologies, demonstrate UK leadership and help us achieve a net zero circular economy.

[TEXT: This content is based on the policy commission chaired by Lord Teverson, www.birmingham.ac.uk/efwcirculareconomy]

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Ends