Recycling, Renewable, Power and Resource Efficiency
Key issues include:
- Increased recycling capacity
- Production of quality recyclates
- Improved materials reprocessing capabilities
- Increased renewable power generation capacity
Recycling and renewable power are now cornerstones of Viridor's business and will be increasingly important over coming years in line with the business plan and with UK waste and energy strategies. The company is therefore well-placed to deliver these essential services, making a substantial contribution to improved UK resource efficiency and renewable energy generation, whilst meeting both public expectation and customer demand.
In 2009/10 Viridor recycled 1.7m tonnes
of material. This figure reflected reduced
waste arisings across the UK during the
recession. The company secured or began
servicing additional major recycling-led
contracts with customers from public
and private sectors, including Greater
Manchester PFI, Cambridgeshire County
and District Councils, Harrow Council,
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and Ikea.
Quality control initiatives to improve and sustain our recycled products remain an important focus for the business in supplying the demanding specifications of both UK and overseas commodity markets. Such initiatives include the certification to the Resource Recycling System (RRS) industry protocol at Masons and Ford MRFs, and working with West Sussex County Council and its district partners and with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority on effective communications, education and awareness programmes to ensure input quality.
During the year important new recycling facilities became operational at Ford (West Sussex), Salmon Pastures (Sheffield) and Bargeddie (Glasgow) MRFs and Deepmoor (Devon) and Waithlands (Rochdale) IVCs. St Helens and Perth WEEE Recycling Facilities were also refitted with increased capacity and improved processing technology.
Further business acquisitions also increased Viridor's recycling capacity and range of services with the additions of:
- London Recycling Ltd - offering a range of office recycling, collection and processing services to white collar businesses in the City of London and across the Capital. Now fully integrated and delivering Viridor's London Recycling' services.
- Intercontinental Recycling Ltd - now Viridor Polymer Recycling, a plastic reprocessing facility producing food-grade flake and pellet products from post-consumer plastics for remanufacture. Viridor has improved the processing facility's efficiency and significantly increased its capacity since acquisition in July 2009.
- Waste Management Ltd - a paper collection and recycling business based in Trafford Park, Manchester. Now fully integrated within Viridor's Northern Region.
- Greater Manchester Waste Ltd - formally acquired as part of the Greater Manchester Waste PFI: 620 employees integrated within Viridor; 22 new and improved recycling facilities constructed and operational. The contract is the UK's largest integrated waste and renewable energy PFI contract aiming to recycle a minimum of 50% of the total 1.2 million tonnes of waste arisings by 2020 and to generate up to 140MW of renewable power, utilising energy from waste, combined heat and power and anaerobic digestion technologies.
- 'Reconomy Recycling Solutions' (comprising of Basecall Ltd, Alibone Recycling Ltd, Anglia Recycling Ltd and Oakley Waste Management Ltd) (acquired June 2010) - providing recycling and waste management services across the South Midlands and East Anglia. Includes three MRFs, handling over 150,000 tonnes of recyclate.
Renewable power capacity increased by 27.5MW to a total
of 130.5MW*. This comprises two additional EfW facilities at
Lakeside, near Slough and Bolton being incorporated into
operations. (Lakeside is a joint venture with total capacity
of 37MW). Such output is deemed renewable under the EU
Renewables Directive and both plants operate under NFFO (non
fossil-fuel) contracts. During the year an Environmental Permit
was received from the Environment Agency for the proposed 3MW
capacity Exeter EfW facility.
(*Includes sub-contracted Suffolk figures)
The Lakeside EfW facility won the Innovation in Design of a Waste Management Facility category at the 2009 National Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management. Viridor was also commended in two categories at the Association for Organics Recycling awards (Jim Balance Composting Award for its Revive soil conditioner product, and Bio-waste Site Manager Award) and was shortlisted for two awards (Recycling Company of the Year and Electronic Recycler of the Year) at the National Recycling Awards.
| RESOURCE USE | 2009-10 |
|---|---|
| Fuel used by waste transportation vehicles for road travel | 15,600,000 |
| Distance travelled by waste transportation vehicles by road | 21,400,000 |
| Tonnes of waste received and transported by rail | 450,000 |
Note - includes 320,000 tonnes transported by rail for final disposal from four Greater Manchester sites