Professional Documents
Culture Documents
02Z030115 M, Industriemagazin Verlag GmbH, Lindengasse 56, 1070 Wien, Retouren an Postfach 100, 1350 Wien JANUARYFEBRUARY 2017
Special Edition
Official Publication of:
COLLECTION &
HANDLING
Euro 12,
Time to rethink
material flows
TWO WEEKS IN
TRUMPTON
For those of you not familiar with Trumpton, its a fictitious town in a 40 year
old animated childrens TV programme. It was on a lot when I was a kid. Each
episode began with a shot of the village clock accompanied by the narration:
Here is the clock, the Trumpton clock. Telling the time, steadily, sensibly; never
too quickly, never too slowly. Telling the time for Trumpton.
CONTENTS
VOLUME 18, ISSUE 1
COVER:
PLACING PLASTICS
IN THE CIRCULAR
ECONOMY
While a number of initiatives are already underway,
with its high-profile partners, could the World
Economic Forums New Plastics Economy initiative
be the catalyst to bring plastic material flows full
circle?
Page 8
Mumbai Moves on Waste Eureka! Clean Lead Acid Learning Tools for
to Energy Battery Recycling Medical Waste Managers
As India moves to tackle its well- Californian firm Aqua Metals has ramped Following years of hard work, the EU
documented sanitation issues, Mumbai up production at its clean lead acid battery Healthcare Waste Management project has
is moving forward with two waste to recycling facility in Nevada and has concluded with the creation of a number of
energy plants. Page 20 ambitious growth plans. Page 28 important new qualifications. Page 34
SPECIAL
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
DAF/GEESINK RCV
COMPACT
EDITON
DIMENSIONS
BIG SAVINGS
BACK TO
BASICS
THE NEW AEBI-SCHMIDT
TRUCK-MOUNTED SWEEPER
GUEST
COVER STORY Recycling AUTHORS
Study Tour
Collection, Sorting & Recycling
The Netherlands
03 - 07 April 2017
ISWA and NVRD (Dutch Solid Waste Association), are organising a 5 day study tour on collection, sorting
and recycling of municipal waste in the Netherlands, from April 3 to 7, 2017
REDEFINING
THE
PLASTICS
ECONOMY
T he spotlight on plastics
waste has intensified in
recent months in a series
of high-profile launches and campaigns.
Brands like Adidas, Ecover and Procter &
Gamble are helping to mainstream the
the study, 50% of plastic packaging could
be profitably recycled if improvements
were made to both packaging design and
end-of-life management systems this
would bring in an additional $90-$140
per tonne of mixed plastics and help rem-
issue, whilst offering circular solutions edy the $80-$120 billion of plastic pack-
albeit in limited numbers in the form of aging material value lost each year to the
upcycled ocean waste trainers and beach economy.
plastic shampoo bottles. Given the disparate nature of plastics
While such initiatives have yet to scale, collection systems at almost every level
its a sharp indication that demand is national, regional, and global any
growing for better capture and repurpos- moves towards harmonisation are con-
ing of end-of-life plastics. This January sidered highly challenging. There are
in Davos, the World Economic Forum emerging examples, like WRAPs recy-
(WEF) launched its latest New Plastics cling consistency framework in the UK,
Economy report in association with the and the work of the Closed Loop Fund
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), in the US to develop replicable models
setting out an ambitious plan to recycle for kerbside recycling, but these remain
70% of plastic packaging globally, from few and far between and dont specifi-
the current rate of 14%. The report, which cally target separate plastics collections.
forms part of EMFs wider New Plastics Similarly across Europe, most plastic
Economy initiative, is significant as it packaging is collected as co-mingled ma-
has the backing of more than 40 indus- terial and capture rates remain woefully
try leaders from across the global plastics low, averaging 12%.
value chain. The systems are hyper-fragmented
in what can be processed and what ca-
LACK OF JOINED-UP THINKING pabilities exist, says Terracycles CEO
To achieve these higher recycling rates, Tom Szaky, whose company specialises in
the report calls for greater harmonisation upcycling hard-to-recycle waste streams.
and adoption of best practices for collec- Whats even worse is that packaging de-
tion and sorting systems. According to signers are constantly adding more vari-
ety, which in turn is creating more frag- tional practices. EPRO says it has engaged
mentation. with the EMF on its New Plastics Economy
Szaky says one of the biggest problems agenda while supportive of the overall
is the lack of joined-up thinking between aims, the organisation believes more ongo-
start-of-life and end-of-life considera- ing dialogue is needed.
tions. Historically, the packaging design In seeking greater convergence of
and production world, and the recycling plastics collection and sorting systems,
world have had a very hard time commu- you need to take into account local, re-
nicating with each other. Packaging de- gional, national, political and cultural
signers are designing what they think is differences, says EPRO secretary general
the best package, but usually theres no Peter Sundt. National waste legislation
line of sight for how to recycle it. can also vary quite significantly, with
One pragmatic solution, he suggests, different priorities in terms of the waste
could be to establish recycling review hierarchy. There is no one single solution
courts whereby new plastic packaging if you try to impose too much harmo-
types are assessed by reprocessors to de- nisation, you may soon meet resistance.
termine their recyclability before being Like Szaky, Sundt points to EPR as a
placed on the market. These apprais- useful lever. We believe that there should
als could initially occur at a national be some harmonisation at EPR level, he
level, before being scaled up for greater says. A key focus now in Europe is the cir-
cross-border convergence. cular economy package higher recycling
targets will require more international
A NEED FOR BETTER LEGISLATION cooperation, including on packaging de-
Szarky maintains that recyclers are largely sign, which is welcome and will hopefully
driven by economics rather than envi- accelerate action on collaboration.
ronmental concerns, and so will only One multi-stakeholder alliance that
recycle more materials if theres value to could bear some fruit here is the Polyolefin
WHATS EVEN be derived from doing so. He points to Circular Economy Platform (PCEP)
WORSE IS THAT Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) launched last year. PCEP seeks to develop
as an effective push mechanism in this EU-wide quality standards for sorted plas-
PACKAGING regard, but says theres more appetite to tics, harmonise test methods for recycled
DESIGNERS ARE do that in regions like Europe, which are plastic materials, and develop packaging
more accepting of regulation. design guidelines and assessment proto-
CONSTANTLY Certainly within the EU, plastics pack- cols in line with circular principles.
ADDING MORE aging legislation is set to become more To help support this work, one of the
VARIETY, WHICH stringent. The European Commissions co-founders PlasticsEurope has set up
Circular Economy Package has set a pro- a Plastics Packaging Circular Economy
IN TURN IS spective 55% plastics recycling and reuse Group in order to strengthen engage-
CREATING MORE target for 2025 for EU member states, and ment with all actors along the plastics
FRAGMENTATION. in January the Commission published value chain to promote lifecycle thinking
a roadmap for its forthcoming plastics on packaging solutions.
strategy, due out later this year.
The roadmap makes no mention of BEYOND EUROPE
harmonisation, but does highlight a need In regions like the US, where the waste
for better definitions and standards for hierarchy isnt so enforced and landfill is
biodegradable plastics, as well as technol- cheap, opportunities for cooperation are
ogy innovation for mixed plastics process- harder to come by. That said, the Closed
ing. On a positive note, collaboration be- Loop Fund (CLF) a social impact fund
tween recyclers is starting to happen. The with $100 million to invest is prior-
European Association of Plastics Recycling itising better plastics recycling as a clear
& Recovery Organisations (EPRO) has value opportunity. There is a lot of best
helped develop EuCertplast, an EU-wide practice in terms of business models and
Terracycles CEO
Tom Szaky
certification for post-consumer plastics technology innovation that can hap-
recyclers that aims to homogenise opera- pen and that can be leveraged across the
SMARTER PLASTICS
FOR A NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY
Trying to achieve a circular economy with existing
plastics is like trying to fit a round peg into a square
hole. Doing better means embracing change. One
example of what that change might look like is
Aquapaks dissolvable and 100% recyclable PVOH
packaging films.
O
By Zo Lenkiewicz
20 YEARS
Plastics production will double
Where the traditional or historic plas-
tics have failed with sustainability, they
to change will be the ultimate survivors.
The waste management sector has
have succeeded in being cherished by typically considered itself to be a reactive
over the next 20 years with
packaging being the largest some in the waste management sector. industry, says Williams. But in a circular
application. Despite the absence of positive end-of-life economy, waste managers suddenly be-
characteristics, some conservatives think come influential. Some people understand
3%
Flexible packaging is expected
we are better off sticking to the familiar
(PP, PE and PVC) rather than looking to
progressive, new materials with circular
this, and they are the ones at the table.
Aquapak is a British tech company that
has developed a library of polymers based
to rise 3% a year to $248 billion
end-of-life benefits. on polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), the flexible
by 2020.
This reluctance to trial materials with and dissolvable plastic used in laundry
true circular economy potential is prov- liquid pods, surgical stitches and medicine
$10 BILLION
Pouches are the fastest-growing
ing a barrier to progress.
Dreaming of a simpler world where
capsules. The team at Aquapak has been
working on the formulae for five years
segment, accounting for $10bn plastics are pure streams with no additives, and is about to launch its 100% recyclable,
of the total. and there are no laminates or composites... flexible plastics lines for packing products
is just dreaming, says John Williams, di- such as crisps or replacing the clear plastic
8 MILLION
Tonnes of plastic packaging
rector at Aquapak Polymers. The world
isnt like that now and it wont be in the
films used on meat packaging, etc.
With its first UK factory opening im-
leaks into the ocean each year.
future. We demand more and more func- minent, the company is in deal-making
tionality in our plastics, which means ma- talks with some big brands. When peo-
DIARY OF
EVENTS
Envac becomes one of the 12 solutions to be exhibited
in one of the three participating European cities that
include Stockholm, Cologne and Barcelona.
MOSCOW INTERNATIONAL Swedish underground automated waste Envac will collect the waste from 300 apart-
RECYCLING EXPO
Moscow collection system manufacturer, Envac AB, has ments across four waste streams including
28-30 March 2017 joined the 25 million GrowSmarter initiative, food, paper, recyclables and general waste.
http://lom.rusmet.ru/about.php which will bring together cities and industry The installation will see Envacs stationary sys-
PLASTICS RECYCLING SHOW EUROPE to showcase 12 smart city solutions in energy, tem integrate with its optical sorting techno-
Amsterdam infrastructure and transport. logy, using only one container and one inlet to
29-30 March 2017
As part of the project, automated waste col- collect the waste, which it said will substantially
www.prseventeurope.com
lection technology will be retrofitted into 300 reduce the cost of the investment.
ISRI CONVENTION & EXPOSITION apartments in Valla torg, an area that lies 8 km Coloured bags, each representing a waste
New Orleans
22-27 April 2017
south of Stockholms city centre. The company stream, will be deposited in the inlet and
said that this will play a key role in meeting transported via underground pipes to the
AD & BIOGAS 2017 GrowSmarter targets, which include reducing waste collection station on the outskirts of the
Birmingham, UK
5-6 July 2017 energy, greenhouse gas emissions and trans- development. The bags will then be taken to
www.adbioresources.org/uk-ad-biogas-2017 port emissions by 60%. an optical sorting facility.
GOOD TO KNOW
USING OUR PIPELINE
$ 14.3
INFRASTRUCTURE TO
DISTRIBUTE THIS CARBON-
NEUTRAL FUEL WILL HELP
TO SLOW CLIMATE CHANGE
MILLION AND MEET STATE GOALS
State of New Jersey distributes grants FOR INCREASING USE OF
to promote state-wide recycling. RENEWABLE FUELS.
300 833.7
mance from EU Ship Owners
EURO
The list of all ships dismantled around
the world in 2016, which the NGO
Shipbreaking Platform has compiled and
analysed, showed no improvements of
the shipping industrys management of
N
its end-of-life vessels. According to the
BILLIO N
organisation, Germany was the worst
I C F EET MILLIO
offender when the size of its fleet is
compared to the number of ships broken CU B
irresponsibly - 98% of all obsolete Ger- FCC GROUP REPORTED
man ships were said to have ended up of RENEWABLE AN INCREASE IN
on a beach. However, other EU nations have nothing NATURAL GAS PER EBITDA to 833.7 million,
to boast about either. Greece dumped the largest total YEAR which could be with Environmental
number of vessels and the worst corporate offender produced from organic Services and Water
was UK-based ZODIAC. waste in California divisions accounting
according to SoCalGas. for 80.4%.
200
Kansas-based Bunting Magnetics Co. has signed an
50
agreement to acquire UK firm Master Magnets Ltd.
The Redditch, UK-based firm provides a complete line
of magnetic separation, recycling and metal detection
equipment to several industries worldwide through a
global network of distributors. Bunting said that the
N
acquisition will build on and complement its global
foundation broadened customer reach, new manu- BILLIO TPD
facturing capabilities and the opportunity to sell into Potential ANNUAL ANAEROBIC DIGES-
new markets. SAVINGS IN HEALTH TION PLANT given the
COSTS and direct costs thumbs up by Hawaii
to the environment with County Planning
full implementation of Department in
Indian IT Firm Opens E-Waste Recycling Facility Waikoloa.
EU environment
Cerebra Integrated Technologies has inaugurated an
legislation according
e-waste recycling facility at Narasapura KIADB Indus-
to Eurobarometer.
trial Area, Kolar District. The company said that the
new facility adds metal, plastic and glass separation
and recovery to its existing reuse, refurbishment and
remarketing services. The current capacity of the facili-
USD
ty is 36,000 tonnes per annum and Cerebra said that it
97 230
will expand further in the near future to add Platinum
Group Metal refining.
N
MILLIO
OF THE 99 GERMAN
END-OF-LIFE- SHIPS
scrapped in 2016 ended
up on beaches in 2016 REPUBLIC SERVICES
compared to 62 of 105 ECONOMIC IMPACT in
from China and 104 of Nevada, according to the
113 from Greece. companys latest study.
24
of landfills or burning to dispose of MDF. tions operating in the MDF production and
Britain alone disposes of around 350,000 waste industries have already begun.
tonnes of MDF each year and according to the The recycling process we have developed is
company some 30-60,000 tonnes per year of a genuine world first, said Bartlett. There is
that could be recycled. The solution generates no other environmentally friendly alternative
a new raw material source for the wood/nat-
ural fibre industry. The recovered fibre is said
to the use of landfill or burning to dispose of
MDF waste. REFUGEES
THE RECYCLING PROCESS WE HAVE WORKING
at the REMONDIS
DEVELOPED IS A GENUINE WORLD FIRST.
Group in Germany, ten
Craig Bartlett, founder and managing director MDF Recovery
of whom have started
an apprenticeship.
A LETTER FROM
BRASILIA
Positive Results from ISWAs
Campaign to Close Dumpsites
On 17th January, the government of the Brazilian Federal
District inaugurated the Sanitary Landfill of the countrys
capital Brasilia, which marks the first step of the process to
close the biggest open dumpsite in Latin America.
By Carlos Silva Filho, CEO of ABRELPE, ISWAs National Member in Brazil
5MILLION
Population served by the
by the area. The expected lifespan
of the site is at least 13 years, with
and final closure of the dumpsite.
ISWA has signed a commitment,
a possible extension to 20 years, along with ABRELPE and a num-
Estrutural dumpsite. as a result of an improved sepa- ber of Brazilian institutes, to
rate collection system and organ- oversee the successful and full
2000
Informal waste pickers making
ics recycling.
The inauguration of its first landfill
closure of the dumpsite. ISWA
will be involved in the progress
represents an important achieve- right through to the planned
a living on the site.
ment for Brasilia, and for the full-closure date of mid-2018 and
country as well. These are positive onwards, receiving regular reports
4000
TONNES
measures that will change the re-
ality of the federal capital for the
and updates. This will also be
compiled as a case study to be
Waste disposed of each day benefit of the entire population shared and serve as an example
at the dumpsite. and will help raise the awareness to other cities looking to do the
of the mayors of more than 3300 same.
13 YEARS
Expected lifespan of the
other Brazilian municipalities
which still dispose waste in an in-
adequate way.
You can find out more about
ISWAs campaign to
#closedumpsites at closedump-
new sanitary landfill. Another positive result is a joint sites.iswa.org.
MARCHING ON
IN MUMBAI
located in the north-east of the city, while By using cells in its grate technology
Keppel Seghers will effectively install
the balance are dumped outside the city 36 mini grates at the Baoan III facility,
boundaries. enabling it to operate efficiently at
such scale.
been set up. We are also taking keen technologies and all companies across the
interest in promoting awareness of and globe will be invited to this project.
public response to these decentralised The energy generated from these
strategies;we are hopeful to make a dif- plants will be utilised in the city and
ference to the current scenario very soon, 340 million people living in Indian money earned from this will be shared be-
Mukherjee explains. cities. 680 million people estimated tween the EPC contractor and MCGM, or
to be living in Indian cities by 2030. whichever sharing pattern if finalised, the
PROJECT FINANCE official adds.
MCGM is looking to develop these plants
on an engineering, procuring and con- 100,000 TIME TO ACT
struction (EPC) model, as it believes that TONNES With the way the population of the city
to be the right approach. Solid waste estimated to be is increasing, it is high time that MCGM
Speaking about funding for the plants, generated across Indias urban takes the solid waste management work
areas on a daily basis.
an MCGM official tells WMW on condi- seriously. These plants should have been
tion of anonymity that funds are always set up a few years back, but MCGM has
a constraint: failed to deliver its promise, an environ-
We have to prioritise our funding. mental expert tells WMW.
For these projects, we have enough fund-
ing. Though there are concerns of availa-
bility of land, as to acquire land in the city
17.4 %
Of the worlds population
With the current population of 15 mil-
lion to 18 million, and no proper area to
treat solid waste, it has become a health
is a huge challenge. are Indian citizens hazard for the population staying close to
We are closing Mulund dumping these landfill suites, they add.
ground as it has now been 50 metres Even after spending a billion of dollars
high and has been causing huge environ- in the last five years, MCGM still unable
500,000
mental issues in the region by this fiscal to process the solid waste generated in
end. We are also going to cut the size of the city daily.
Deonar dumping ground, where we have With the development of these plants,
PEOPLE
about over 120 hectares of land. Once, we in Mumbai considered MCGM aims to make Mumbai city a zero
clear the land from this, this can be used to reside near landfills. solid waste generating city.
wasteconsult
INTERNATIONAL
www.wasteconsult.de www.asa-ev.de www.metso.com
BIOWASTE
FACTS
18-22 DAYS
Hydraulic retention time of the slurry.
70C
A three tank batch system holds the sludge
at 70C for one hour for pasteurisation.
95 %
Of the organic
material is captured.
ZERO
Internal moving components in the digester.
Q&A:
ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION 101
With a growing impetus to divert food waste from
landfill, anaerobic digestion is both an opportunity
for the waste industry, and a technical challenge.
Since acquiring Monsal and its advanced anaerobic
digestion technology back in 2014, GE has developed a
number of such faciclities. WMW talks to GEs Michael
Theodoulou to find out how.
By Ben Messenger
Over the past few years, weve seen an in- We hear a lot about new AD developments
creasing number of gas-to-grid operations in Europe, but there is also a lot going on in
coming online. From a developers perspec- North America. Is the time right for AD to
tive, how do these projects compare to CHP? take off there?
THEODOULOU: We have started to see THEODOULOU: I see North America
a shift towards upgrading the gas into starting to implement certain strategies
biomethane for gas-to-grid injection. It's which are starting to drive the developer
definitely something that we're starting market in terms of building a financially
to see with the projects that we have in viable solution to handling organic waste.
the UK and also in North America where We're also starting to see a trend of mu-
it's starting to become a preferential solu- nicipalities, which have control over resi-
tion for biogas utilisation. dential organic waste, looking towards
From an investment standpoint, we've anaerobic digestion as a solution. Thats
seen that the cost of implementing biogas because it not only reduces the impact on
upgrading compared to CHP (Combined the environment in the form of extending
Heat & Power) is fairly even, but you do landfill lives and reducing the emissions
need to condition the biogas more for in- that would occur there, but also to pro-
jection compared to CHP. Where I am in duce renewable energy, whether that be
Canada, its very getting a lot of traction electricity or biomethane.
info@menart.eu www.menart.eu
RECYCLING
LEADING
THE CHARGE
TO SAFER LAB RECYCLING
With a limited lifespan, a huge userbase and some pretty
nasty materials inside, lead acid battery recycling is both
big business and potentially very hazardous. California-
based company reinventing lead recycling through its
hydro-metallurgical process may just be the solution.
By Ben Messenger
eficial, he says. But its also a sustaina- lead acid batteries for backup power and
FACTS ble business model. Because its modular are seeking ways to build their sustaina-
you can build smaller facilities in terms bility programs.
of tonnage per year. You can have more The company has also sent its initial
facilities distributed globally and effec- production samples to several US bat-
tively bring recycling to the sources of tery manufacturing companies - which
96 %
Of all batteries
batteries.
Cotton goes on to explain that smelt-
it says collectively represent over 50% of
US battery production - to allow them to
in use are lead acid ers are very large, typically fed by a sur- conduct their own assessments.
batteries. rounding population of 30 million,
earning them a reputation for needing THE FUTURE
to feed the beast. With smaller refin- While Aqua Metals is a relatively young
eries comes improved logistics and more startup, it has big plans to break into a
18-30 %
efficient distribution networks. big market, because in spite of the grow-
To this end, the companys new ing popularity of litium ion batteries,
Growth in lead acid battery Nevada refinery is located adjacent to a lead acid is still the dominant technology
production growth over Battery Systems Inc. facility which is able and is continuing to grow.
recent years. to supply the feedstock batteries. Such Cotton explains that while lead as a ma-
mutually advantageous partnerships terial has had its pitfalls, a clean recycling
2017
with some of the major players in the lead process actually makes it a much cleaner
acid battery industry are very much part material to use for large scale energy stor-
Company expects to of the companys growth plans. It has age as it is a far more recyclabe material
start shipping licensed also formed strategic partnerships with than litium. Indeed, according to Aqua
AquaRefining equipment.
Interstate Batteries and Battery Systems Metals lead acid batteries are the worlds
International and says it is in discussions most recycled consumer product at 100%.
MASTER with nearly every major US-based battery Our technology is so disruptive to the $65
LICENSE manufacturer and recycler.
Another potentially large feedstock
billion global lead acid battery industry in
a sense that it could take the $22 billion
Approach developed
for China and other suppliers are data center operators and sub-sector of that which is recycling and
large markets. household internet brands, which use change not only the way in which batteries
Used
LABs
Wet processes with no opportunity to generate airborne emissions
"Primary"
Electricity
Plastic lead
Sodium
sulphate
are recycled, but the way in which they are things up Cotton also draws on a more
distributed and made, he says. recent comparison, the 1952 invention
The company is currently at the stage of the Float Glass Process by Alastair
of looking for suitable locations for a Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff.
second and third site, and is evaluating Within 10 years of their breakthrough
options for developing four or five in the all glass was manufactured using the
near future, giving it a total recycling ca- Pilikington process.
pacity of around 800 tonnes per day. As industrial innovators go then, the
While it has previously funded initial company is certainly aiming high. But
technical developments through an Initial as anyone who has more than a passing
Public Offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ, acquaintance knows, lead acid batteries
it plans to develop these new facilities continue to be a product in desperate
through non-equity funding. It projects need of a steep change in the recycling
around 30% Internal Rate of Return (IRR) process.
for each 160 t/day AquaRefinery at a capi- Making serious inroads into a $22
tal cost of approximately $50 million. billion market is a big task for a small
company, but when a technology really is
The lead produced by the continuous CONCLUSIONS cheaper, cleaner, safer and more versatile
process drops onto conveyers which
take it to be compacted. It has been It may be over 150 years since Bessemer than its troublesome predecessor, its of-
assayed at 99.99% purity. made his breakthrough, but in summing ten just a matter of time.
RE-FRAMING RE-USE
Theres a mind-set in the waste and recycling industry
that doesnt want to be bothered with re-use. Theres
not much tonnage diversion to be had, theres not
always a weighbridge ticket involved and it cant be
added onto a sort line. So what could be done to move
waste up the hierarchy?
By David Roman
FACTS
10 MILLION
Household items sent to
landfill every year in the UK
according to the Furniture
Re-use Network - 3 million
of these items could be
re-used by people in crisis.
SPAIN
The first European country to
introduce a separate national
binding target for re-use.
200,000
TONNES
Of goods expected to re-enter
the second-hand market Charity shops offer a readymade means
rather than being recycled or through which items can be diverted from
sent to landfill under the new the waste stream and into re-use, but there is
Spanish targets. room for improvement in achieving this.
I n a conventional municipal
waste setting, this is not going to
be your priority when planning
another round of efficiencies. But if its
done right, re-use is where waste man-
agement can stop being just a necessary
stream can turn into a funding stream for
job creation, housing security and a range
of good causes.
The recent CIWM Presidential Report
highlighted how in the UK and Ireland
hundreds of thousands of tonnes of tex-
utility and deliver real value to local econ- tiles, furniture, electrical items and other
omies. With little or no cost (and often goods are kept out of household waste
a saving) a difficult fraction of the waste by charities and social enterprises. There
has always been a trade in used goods IN MOST Foundation has over 730 stores and
and in the UK charity sector that has prevents over 70,000 tonnes per annum
carved out a unique role since the 1940s, CASES, ALL of waste. Like other charity retailers it
the first time the public donated a sale- THEY WANT is not driven by tonnage targets and it
able surplus in response to an appeal by FROM THE doesnt consider itself part of the waste
Oxfam. Because this never sees the inside management industry. However, such
of a waste facility, it is largely uncounted. WASTE organisations have just quietly taken a
INDUSTRY IS leading role at the top of the waste hier-
COUNTING RE-USE archy as a by-product of an effective
As in many other countries, in the UK COMMUNI- fund-raising focus.
nobody knows how many tonnes are re- CATION One of the keys to the success of the
used every year. There is estimated data TALKING UK charity retail sector, but also re-use
of course, but unless the weight of do- operators in other countries Ive visited
nations helps the charities involved or TO EACH Flanders, Netherlands, the USA is re-
contributes to government targets, it is OTHER AND sponding to the pull factor of customer
usually not being monitored. demand rather than the push factor of
What we do know is that the re-use MAKING SURE useable goods supply. An attempt to bolt
sector already saves the waste industry THE PUBLIC re-use onto a waste management system
millions and it could save it millions KNOW WHAT runs the risk of creating a junkyard.
more while also adding hundreds of mil- A good re-use retailer will know what
lions in value. This in turn creates paid OPTIONS ARE sells, at what price, and what to send
employment, volunteering opportunities AVAILABLE. straight to recycling, and they will create
and a boost to charities at a time when a suitable environment to do it in. They
the economy as a whole needs them more may be motivated by a charitable cause,
than ever. by helping people in need furnish their
There is a high level of professional- homes, by helping the unemployed into
ism amongst charity retailers. We recruit the job market, or all of these. Very rarely
specialised staff that can sort, price, dis- will they be motivated by tonnage data
play and sell an extraordinary range of alone.
donated goods. We analyse sales data,
we use discount outlets, high-end bou- PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
tiques and online sales outlets. We re- If, like me, youve been in the waste in-
cycle everything from mattresses to cos- dustry for many years, but, unlike me,
tume jewellery. you havent spent much time looking at
re-use, now is the time to update your-
GETTING RE-USE RIGHT self.
When, as a junior recycling officer, I was Professional re-use organisations
asked to investigate the scope for my might not make a huge difference to
local authority to save on bulky waste weighbridge tonnages (although youd
collection costs I came back with a mix quickly notice it if they werent there).
of good and bad news. The good news What they can do is deliver a lot of eco-
was that most of what was being dis- nomic and social benefits per tonne of
carded was still in a useable state. The what they handle. In most cases, all they
bad news was that local facilities able want from the waste industry is com-
to cope with large volumes of furniture munication talking to each other and
could not be found. The local authority making sure the public know what op-
carried on bearing the cost of collection tions are available.
and disposal, only recently introducing a Waste industrys role is to re-route
small collection charge like most in the goods before they enter the waste stream
UK, but continuing to subsidise the ser- and let the re-use sector do the hard
vice. Two decades later there is a choice work. How many other contractors are
of charities operating in nearly every David Romanis waste &
there that will collect from households
local authority in the UK with demand recycling managerat the British for free, reduce disposal costs and thank
outstripping supply. The British Heart Heart Foundation. you for it?
NEW QUALIFICATIONS IN
HEALTHCARE WASTE
MANAGEMENT
Following three years of hard work,
the EU Healthcare Waste Management
(EUHCWM) project has concluded with
the creation of a number of important
new qualifications for healthcare waste
managers and with the continued backing
of ISWA.
By Scott Crossett
FACTS
THE FUTURE
EU-HCWM NETWORK
n Partner Countries
It seemed logical that any future training
n Network Member countries could be provided as part of an overarch-
n Planned network member countries ing agreement with ISWA which would
lot opportunities. With all of the project mental organizations. A complete data-
deliverables developed, the next task was base of contact details has been created,
to determine how best to have the pro- and the members of the network are the
ject initiative and these outputs as widely core recipients of the project activities
disseminated as possible. This was the and outputs, mainly through project
task of Aditi Ramola at ISWA. It was de- newsletters and updates.
cided over a number of brainstorming It has been a hectic three years on
sessions to create a series of professional the project. I hope that all the efforts
networks within each Member State and have been worthwhile and that the pro-
in this regard we would create a small ject outputs will indeed find their place,
group of national experts who would sooner or later, within the European
be part of an EU-wide professional net- Qualification Framework and in as many
work of Healthcare Waste Managers and Member States National Qualification
Vocational Qualification Centres. Frameworks as possible.
National networks have been created As is the tradition with projects funded
The three qualifications aim to address in each participating partner country. under the Leonardo Da Vinci programme,
three different facets of HCWM: Health- The members of the networks are rep- they normally culminate in a final confer-
care waste management at a healthcare
facility; healthcare waste management in resentatives of all stakeholders target ence where the final project deliverables
the context of healthcare waste logistics groups, i.e. direct beneficiaries like voca- and outputs are disseminated to a wider
and, as pictured above in Cyprus, health-
care waste management at a healthcare
tional training providers and potential stakeholder group. For more on this visit
waste treatment centre. learners; policy and decision makers; www.wmw.news.
other stakeholders like local communi- It is time now to start the next project
ties, healthcare providers, and environ- proposal for Erasmus Plus 2017.
COMPANIES INDEX
COMPANY PAGE COMPANY PAGE
ABRELPE 18 GE 24
29 MAY 2 JUN
ISWA Study Tour Biological
Treatment of Waste 2017
our message is. We therefore ask that try in an attempt to gather opinions Brussels, Belgium
you take a look at our website and de- and views. We want to establish what
claration and consider joining our cam- the current understanding is of the
paign. With a strong voice we can raise potential impacts. We will assess the 1824 JUN
global attention to this issue. potential future influence in the indus- ISWA Study Tour
Waste-to-Energy 2017
try of a range of technologies includ- Munich, Germany
HAVE YOUR SAY ing Artificial Intelligence, 3D Printers,
On the other side, ISWAs second, par- Driverless Cars and the Internet of
allel initiative looks at a very different Things. 2527 SEP
danger affecting more developed econ- Following this survey, ISWA will ISWA World Congress 2017
omies, the hazards of technology which publish the results and create a col- Baltimore, USA
could potentially leave the waste and lective roadmap for the waste and re-
resource management industry behind. cycling sector which aims to ensure
The world is experiencing a signifi- that we are well prepared and flexible
cant and inexorable technological shift enough to cope with the rapidly chang-
and every industry, waste and recycling ing world where robots become more
included, will be impacted by what is widely used.
commonly referred to as the fourth in- ISWA is thinking about the future
dustrial revolution. ISWA aims to help and we want to ensure that the waste
shape the future of waste management managers are not left behind. We would
by conducting the worlds only global therefore ask that you give five minutes
survey on the impacts of technology on to take the survey online at www.sur-
the waste management sector. veymonkey.com/r/4thindustrial -
ISWA is canvassing the entire waste the more responses, the more credible For more events and details
management community on the in- the analysis and the more credible our please go to www.iswa.org or
volvement of technology in our indus- roadmap. scan the QR code.
Waste-fired power plant, Solid Waste Authority, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
Photography by Patricia Fallon.