Half of mechanical biological waste in England goes to landfill sites

It has been revealed that nearly half of the waste produced from mechanical biological (MBT) sites was sent straight to landfills in 2011 and 2012, according to Lets Recycle.

In research undertaken by the firm, the figures highlighted that 48.5 per cent of local authority waste, which was sent to be treated at MBT plants, was then sent to landfill sites. This spanned 28 councils across England, which produced 1,205,663 tonnes of waste. 585,359 tonnes of this was then sent to landfills.

Whilst the 48.5 per cent may be alarming to environmentalists, it must be noted that the results suggested great variance across councils, with some councils only sending 30 per cent of waste, whilst others performed far worse at 80 per cent. New Earth Solutions’ facility in Dorset which treats the waste coming from Bournemouth Council only sent 27 per cent to landfill and Shanks Waste Management in east London only sent 34.15 per cent.

Plants which did not fare so well included Viridor Laing in Greater Manchester which sent a mammoth 83 per cent and Cambridgeshire’s AmeyCespa which sent out 75 per cent of its waste. The latter in particular is likely to be out of action until 2014 after it faced a mechanical issue in September 2012.

Generally, companies that produced compost-like outputs (CLOs) sent waste to sites because Environment Agency rules prevent the spreading of the remaining compost waste to land and so it must be sent to landfills. Plants which produce refuse-derived fuel (RDF) were much more efficient in diverting waste away.

Biological plants and local authorities are being encouraged to monitor their waste management, whilst campaigners are calling for environmental policy to reduce the amount of waste that is being deposited on landfill sites.