The analysis of flue gas treatment residues using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence as a regulatory compliance test

Current and proposed European Union (EU) regulations require the residual material from municipal solid waste incineration to be characterised prior to disposal. X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) provides a rapid and non-destructive technique for analysing such materials.     

A review of municipal solid waste composition in the United Kingdom

The move from landfill-based to resource-based waste management systems requires a greater knowledge of the composition of municipal solid waste. This paper draws together the findings of municipal solid waste (MSW) compositional surveys undertaken in the United Kingdom. The results from recent surveys show a good agreement over the composition of household-collected waste, but less agreement over civic amenity site waste composition. There is insufficient data to allow comparisons of the commercial waste element of municipal waste or of the other components, and further work is necessary to produce more reliable estimates of the composition of these streams. The use of questionnaire surveys and analysis of the results suggests that the size and age profile of a household influence the generation of household-collected waste. Some research suggests that the waste container provided by the local authority and the socio-economic classification of a household also influence household-collected waste generation, but other studies failed to find this link. Further research is required to investigate this by surveying all of the waste disposal routes available to specific households.     

The impact of the European landfill directive on waste management in the United Kingdom

The European Union Landfill Directive calls on member states to reduce the amount of biodegradable municipal solid waste disposed of to landfill. In addition, national waste strategies will require the constituent parts of the United Kingdom to achieve increased household waste recycling and recovery rates. Both these measures will require the development of the infrastructure to support national high-intensity recycling and composting schemes and the construction of at least 35 new municipal waste to energy incinerators. Before plans can be developed for meeting the targets several areas relating to municipal solid waste need to be clarified. Depending on the definition of municipal solid waste, its composition and likely future growth rates the number of incinerators required could be up to 170.     

Energy implications of the thermal recovery of biodegradable municipal waste materials in the United Kingdom

Waste management policies and legislation in many developed countries call for a reduction in the quantity of biodegradable waste landfilled. Anaerobic digestion, combustion and gasification are options for managing biodegradable waste while generating renewable energy. However, very little research has been carried to establish the overall energy balance of the collection, preparation and energy recovery processes for different types of wastes. Without this information, it is impossible to determine the optimum method for managing a particular waste to recover renewable energy. In this study, energy balances were carried out for the thermal processing of food waste, garden waste, wood, waste paper and the non-recyclable fraction of municipal waste. For all of these wastes, combustion in dedicated facilities or incineration with the municipal waste stream was the most energy-advantageous option. However, we identified a lack of reliable information on the energy consumed in collecting individual wastes and preparing the wastes for thermal processing. There was also little reliable information on the performance and efficiency of anaerobic digestion and gasification facilities for waste.     

The use of chemical composition data in waste management planning--a case study

As the waste industry continues to move from a disposal-based system to one based on a combination of recovery options, the need for information on the composition of waste increases and this is reflected by the amount of information on the physical composition of municipal solid wastes that is now available. However, there is far less information on the chemical composition of municipal solid waste. The results from a number of chemical surveys from Europe are compared and show a reasonable degree of agreement, but several problems were identified with the data. Chemical and physical compositional data are combined in a case study example to investigate the flow of key potential pollutants in an integrated solid waste management system that uses materials recycling, composting, incineration and landfilling. This case study has shown that an integrated waste management strategy diverts lead and cadmium away from composting and recycling to incineration, which effectively isolates these elements from the environment through efficient capture of the pollutants followed by secure landfilling or recycling of the residues. However, further work is needed to determine the distribution of mercury in incineration residues and its fate when the residues are landfilled.     

A multi-criteria decision analysis assessment of waste paper management options

The use of Multi-criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) was investigated in an exercise using a panel of local residents and stakeholders to assess the options for managing waste paper on the Isle of Wight. Seven recycling, recovery and disposal options were considered by the panel who evaluated each option against seven environmental, financial and social criteria. The panel preferred options where the waste was managed on the island with gasification and recycling achieving the highest scores. Exporting the waste to the English mainland for incineration or landfill proved to be the least preferred options. This research has demonstrated that MCDA is an effective way of involving community groups in waste management decision making.