[GreenYes] Zero tolerance for waste policy

[RicAnthony@no.address]

Zero tolerance for  waste policy
17 April 2006 -  HUGH BOWRING/UK

Anti-incinerator campaigners today hailed  zero waste centres as the best 
solution to the county's rubbish crisis -  just as a charity tries to 
create one to serve parts of Norfolk. Every county in  the country is 
facing crippling  penalties for overuse of landfill sites from 2010 and is 
looking for alternatives.

Norfolk County Council has  controversially decided that the best option is 
to burn refuse in a £90 million mass burn  incinerator proposed for the 
Longwater Industrial Estate in Costessey.  However, in Suffolk a team of 
innovative environmentalists are focusing  on recycling and reusing 
everything through the creation of a zero  waste centre and generating more 
than 100 jobs in the  process.

The centres - which  are also known as resource recovery parks - are big 
news in other parts of the world but are  yet to make their mark in 
Britain. Last May charity Suffolk Connect  was awarded £117,500 from Defra, 
the Environment Agency and the East of  England Development Agency to carry 
out a study for such a park in the  Waveney and Great Yarmouth area. Maxine 
Narburgh, who is heading the project,  said the centre would be capable of 
dealing with 100,000 tonnes worth of  residual rubbish a year and would 
employ around 125 people. It would be  designed to recycle and reuse a 
dozen types of waste and discarded  materials, with processed products 
becoming available for immediate resale  in their current state or for use 
in manufacturing. "Every product can be  broken down into one of these 
categories - we haven't found anything  that can't. It's all about applying 
the right technology to the appropriate  resource stream so your end result 
is a product and resource of value. "On  top of that there is no pollution 
to the water, to the soil or to the air.  It just makes sense."

Suffolk Connect estimates the capital  cost of setting up the park would be 
£7.1 million (not including land) and a  further £1.6 million annually to 
run it. The revenue generated from sale  of materials and gate fees would 
be in the region of £3.4 million a  year.

One of the main  challenges of running a successful park is encouraging 
people to separate their rubbish at  source to help the end of line 
separation process.

"If it all comes in mixed up as it does  to landfill then it won't be a 
very viable or pleasant job to sort out,"  said Ms Narburgh, who is hoping 
construction work will begin this year  once a site, either in the Yarmouth 
or Lowestoft areas, has been secured. She  said a successful zero waste 
scheme also relied on the Government  increasing producer responsibility: 
"Everybody needs to get involved to make  this a success, but it is worth 
it."

How it would work:

Household and trade waste that has not  been separated out for recycling 
will be trucked to the centre. This would  then be separated either 
automatically or manually into one of 12  different categories of 
materials. These are: paper, polymers  (such as plastics, rubbers, etc), 
metals, chemicals, textiles, soils,  ceramics, green waste, putrescibles 
(for example food waste, animal slurry),  wood and glass. These products 
are grouped into five clusters covering  organic, regulated materials and 
chemicals, reusables, recyclables and  construction materials. Clean 
organic matter is treated through an  onsite system called anaerobic 
digestion. Whatever can be reused or  recycled is sold off accordingly and 
all other materials are treated on site  using a raft of different 
processes and technologies and then used  in manufacturing and other areas.

The planning process for the  incinerator:

Early 2006 -  Scoping stage. Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to agree which 
issues should be considered in the  Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). 
Includes public input.
Spring - Environmental Impact Assessment.  Technical assessment of impacts 
of the development proposed.
Spring/summer - WRG to consider outcomes  of EIA and get further input from 
local people before finalising the  proposals.
Summer - WRG to  submit planning application to Norfolk County Council and 
an Integrated Pollution Prevention and  Control (IPPC) permit application 
to the Environment Agency
Summer/Autumn - Formal consultation by  Norfolk County Council on the 
planning application.
Winter - Further information and  clarification from WRG if requested by 
Norfolk County Council.
Winter 2006/ spring 2007 - Planning  officers will give a report to the 
council's planning committee. The  committee will decide on whether or not 
to grant planning permission or  not.

What do you think of  the plans for an incinerator in Costessey? Write to 
Evening News Letters, Prospect House,  Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1  1RE, email 
eveningnewsletters@no.address or visit  www.eveningnews24.co.uk/forums 

17 April 2006 - HUGH BOWRING

Anti-incinerator campaigners today hailed  zero waste centres as the best 
solution to the county's rubbish crisis -  just as a charity tries to 
create one to serve parts of Norfolk. Every county in  the country is 
facing crippling  penalties for overuse of landfill sites from 2010 and is 
looking for alternatives.

Norfolk County Council has  controversially decided that the best option is 
to burn refuse in a £90 million mass burn  incinerator proposed for the 
Longwater Industrial Estate in Costessey.  However, in Suffolk a team of 
innovative environmentalists are focusing  on recycling and reusing 
everything through the creation of a zero  waste centre and generating more 
than 100 jobs in the  process.

The centres - which  are also known as resource recovery parks - are big 
news in other parts of the world but are  yet to make their mark in 
Britain. Last May charity Suffolk Connect  was awarded £117,500 from Defra, 
the Environment Agency and the East of  England Development Agency to carry 
out a study for such a park in the  Waveney and Great Yarmouth area. Maxine 
Narburgh, who is heading the project,  said the centre would be capable of 
dealing with 100,000 tonnes worth of  residual rubbish a year and would 
employ around 125 people. It would be  designed to recycle and reuse a 
dozen types of waste and discarded  materials, with processed products 
becoming available for immediate resale  in their current state or for use 
in manufacturing. "Every product can be  broken down into one of these 
categories - we haven't found anything  that can't. It's all about applying 
the right technology to the appropriate  resource stream so your end result 
is a product and resource of value. "On  top of that there is no pollution 
to the water, to the soil or to the air.  It just makes sense."

Suffolk Connect estimates the capital  cost of setting up the park would be 
£7.1 million (not including land) and a  further £1.6 million annually to 
run it. The revenue generated from sale  of materials and gate fees would 
be in the region of £3.4 million a  year.

One of the main  challenges of running a successful park is encouraging 
people to separate their rubbish at  source to help the end of line 
separation process.

"If it all comes in mixed up as it does  to landfill then it won't be a 
very viable or pleasant job to sort out,"  said Ms Narburgh, who is hoping 
construction work will begin this year  once a site, either in the Yarmouth 
or Lowestoft areas, has been secured. She  said a successful zero waste 
scheme also relied on the Government  increasing producer responsibility: 
"Everybody needs to get involved to make  this a success, but it is worth 
it."

How it would work:

Household and trade waste that has not  been separated out for recycling 
will be trucked to the centre. This would  then be separated either 
automatically or manually into one of 12  different categories of 
materials. These are: paper, polymers  (such as plastics, rubbers, etc), 
metals, chemicals, textiles, soils,  ceramics, green waste, putrescibles 
(for example food waste, animal slurry),  wood and glass. These products 
are grouped into five clusters covering  organic, regulated materials and 
chemicals, reusables, recyclables and  construction materials. Clean 
organic matter is treated through an  onsite system called anaerobic 
digestion. Whatever can be reused or  recycled is sold off accordingly and 
all other materials are treated on site  using a raft of different 
processes and technologies and then used  in manufacturing and other areas.

The planning process for the  incinerator:

Early 2006 -  Scoping stage. Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to agree which 
issues should be considered in the  Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). 
Includes public input.
Spring - Environmental Impact Assessment.  Technical assessment of impacts 
of the development proposed.
Spring/summer - WRG to consider outcomes  of EIA and get further input from 
local people before finalising the  proposals.
Summer - WRG to  submit planning application to Norfolk County Council and 
an Integrated Pollution Prevention and  Control (IPPC) permit application 
to the Environment Agency
Summer/Autumn - Formal consultation by  Norfolk County Council on the 
planning application.
Winter - Further information and  clarification from WRG if requested by 
Norfolk County Council.
Winter 2006/ spring 2007 - Planning  officers will give a report to the 
council's planning committee. The  committee will decide on whether or not 
to grant planning permission or  not.

What do you think of  the plans for an incinerator in Costessey? Write to 
Evening News Letters, Prospect House,  Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1  1RE, email 
eveningnewsletters@no.address or visit  _www.eveningnews24.co.uk/forums_ 
(http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/forums)  
_Ricanthony@no.address (mailto:Ricanthony@no.address) 
RichardAnthonyAssociates.com
San  Diego, California



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