Eunomia launches survey for business waste impacts

Eunomia Research and Consulting has launched a survey for the Welsh Government to assess how waste management businesses may be affected by new legislation.

The proposed policies will: require non-domestic waste producers, including businesses, charities and the public sector, to present several kinds of waste (paper/card, plastic/cans, food, waste electronics and textiles) separately for recycling; require waste collectors to arrange for these materials to be collected separately; ban the disposal of recyclable wastes to landfill; ban the incineration of recyclable waste materials; and ban the disposal of food waste to sewer from non-domestic premises.

Powers to implement these policies were put in place under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and consulted on in autumn 2019.

Eunomia is now gathering views on behalf of the Welsh Government, aiming to gain a full understanding of how the proposed changes might affect the competitiveness of waste management practices.

Businesses can submit responses on Eunomia’s SurveyMonkey site.

PowerHouse Energy Group to development out DMG technology

PowerHouse Energy Group (PHE) has signed an agreement to develop its DMG® technology in the UK with Peel Environmental, following the news that planning permission has been granted to Peel Environmental and Waste2Tricity (W2T) for the DMG® facility at Protos Energy Park in Cheshire.

Commenting on the announcement that planning permission for the Protos facility has been granted, David Ryan, CEO of PHE, said: “We congratulate Peel and W2T on the success of the planning approval for the first facility utilising our proprietary DMG® technology.

“The decision represents a key milestone for PowerHouse and, after developing the technology alongside Protos at Thornton Science Park, we now look forward to working alongside Peel to complete funding and delivering the first commercial application of the DMG® technology, creating hydrogen from waste plastics and helping to kick start the hydrogen revolution in the North West.”

Under the UK Exclusivity Option Agreement, Peel Environmental has – if it exercises the option – committed to leading engagement with all potential end customers for UK based DMG® plants, such as councils and waste management companies, and will facilitate the development of those DMG® plants.

PHE will receive £500,000 as a one-off fee for granting Peel exclusive rights to develop the DMG® technology in the UK, and will be entitled to an annual licence fee of approximately £500,000 for each DMG® plant that Peel develops.

Ryan continued: “We have chosen to work with Peel largely based on the results of the very positive engagement we have had with them to date combined with their well suited strategic fit as a development partner for delivering an effective and sustained roll-out of our DMG® technology across the UK.

“They have the resource, reputation and experience as well as a shared vision for providing commercially sound solutions to meet the increasing demand for energy from waste produced in an environmentally responsible manner. We very much look forward to having a highly productive and mutually profitable working relationship with Peel.”

You can find more information on the PHE website.

Agrimax project connects food producers with biorefineries

EU-funded food waste project Agrimax has launched a new online service which enables crop producers, food processors and agricultural cooperatives to sell their waste as feedstock for its two biorefineries in Spain and Italy.

Agrimax’s flexible, multi-feedstock biorefineries – one in northern Italy and one in southern Spain – convert residues and by-products from farming and food processing into high-value products which can be used in the food, packaging, chemical and agricultural sectors.

The new online tool will help ensure that biorefineries are provided with sufficient waste feedstocks from local suppliers throughout the year, addressing any seasonal and regional fluctuations while maximising efficiency and profitability. The tool will also enable potential end users to order samples of the biorefinery products for testing.

Georgios Chalkias of Spanish engineering company IRIS, which developed the online tool, commented: “The platform is a great opportunity to link key stakeholders from across the whole supply chain.

“It gives producers an alternative to landfill and animal feed for their waste and allows end users in the food, packaging, chemical and agricultural sectors to order high-value compounds to use in a range of biobased products.”

Visit the Agrimax website for more information.

Renewi appoints new Non-Executive Chairman

Renewi has announced that Ben Verwaayan will be succeeding Colin Matthews as Non-Executive Chairman from 1 April 2020.

Verwaayan has been CEO for several companies including Alcatel-Lucent SA and BT plc, holding the position of Vice Chairman and COO of Lucent Technologies Inc and serving as President of KPN Telecom and as a Non-Executive Director of Bharti Airtel. He is currently Non-Executive Director on the Boards of OFCOM, Akamai Technologies Inc and Akzo Nobel NV.

Allard Castelein, Senior Independent Director at Renewi, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Ben to Renewi. Following a comprehensive search, the Board unanimously agreed that he is the preferred candidate. His leadership experience is extensive, he understands the importance of innovation as a disruptor of industries and he has had exposure to climate change which is invaluable to Renewi as we build on our goal to support Europe’s transition towards a circular economy. We are confident Ben will play a key role in taking Renewi to the next stage of development.

“On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Colin for his service as Chairman over the last four years. He played a key role in the acquisition of Van Gansewinkel by Shanks and the subsequent successful integration as we evolved the business into a leading waste to product company. We wish him well for the future.”

Verwaayen said: “I am very pleased to be joining Renewi at this time. The company is well positioned to be a winner in the emerging Circular Economy. It has established strong partnerships with key customers and partners and continues to invest in circular technologies. I look forward to being part of a strong Board and working with the management team to help Renewi achieve its full potential.”

For more information visit the Renewi website.

J&B Recycling processes record tonnage

Recycling company J&B Recycling processed its highest amount of material ever in January 2020, with the company recording a 48 per cent growth in material processed at its Windermere Road site in Hartlepool compared to the same month last year.

J&B has benefitted from significant recent investment, receiving £7.5 million from the Business Growth Fund (BGF) in 2014 which enabled the company to begin its focus on process optimisation and expansion.

Mark Penny, Commercial Manager at J&B Recycling, commented: “The continued investment into our recycling centres and MRF means we will continue to increase the amount of recyclable materials we can process and deliver the highest quality material available.

“We are continually upgrading plant equipment to add flexibility to our operations with the most advanced technology that is on offer to the waste industry.”

The company’s Hartlepool plant has had three major upgrades over the last year, boosting capacity by 60 per cent and delivering contamination levels under 0.5 per cent for all its fibre grades.

J&B recently opened a new recycling centre in Washington, servicing Sunderland City Council’s kerbside recycling contract.

More information can be found on the J&B Recycling website.